The two in question are Charlie Swinton and Ed Shadid. The question: remembering that the Chief of Police and a couple of city councilmen said they liked the idea of forcing us peasants to register anything classed as an 'assault weapon', I wrote to both and asked
What is your opinion on this?
I've written twice; no answer from either of them either time.
So, the possibilities are
They're backed-up on questions and haven't see this e-mail(unlikely);
They don't think the question is worth answering(somewhat unlikely, and if this is it it pisses me off);
They figure whatever they answer they'll tick somebody off and don't have the guts to deal with that.
Update: came home from working on my heart health to find this reply from Swinton:
XXXX, I disagree with the police chief. Charlie
So I have a reply from one, good on him for answering.
Update 2: got a reply from Shadid this morning:
I apologize in the delay of response. I heard the comments by the Chief and Police and have been thinking a lot about it lately. We need to have a balance between public safety and the right to bear arms. Our constitution was designed to protect rights not take away from them. Let me know if I can ever be of service. Thanks for you questions.
Which says basically nothing, with a possible lean toward "Would registration be so bad?" So I just sent back 'Do you agree with the Police Chief?' We'll see what he says.
That kind of answer from a former governor is what started me in my ever-since low regard for politicians.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
I wondered why it'd be such a problem to interdict
the Libyan air forces; looks like it was sort-of planned that way.
There are no American supercarriers in the Mediterranean. None. A helicopter carrier and a support ship from the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain were deployed there last week. An Aegis cruiser and a guided missile destroyer arrived in the Eastern Med around March 1.
The UK just retired its carriers because of budget austerity. So, unless our EU allies allow American planes to attack Libya from their territory, a no-fly zone or other action is not an option.
Nor is the Med (and the Suez Canal) the only strategic choke-point which the Obama Administration has uncovered...
There are no American supercarriers in the Mediterranean. None. A helicopter carrier and a support ship from the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain were deployed there last week. An Aegis cruiser and a guided missile destroyer arrived in the Eastern Med around March 1.
The UK just retired its carriers because of budget austerity. So, unless our EU allies allow American planes to attack Libya from their territory, a no-fly zone or other action is not an option.
Nor is the Med (and the Suez Canal) the only strategic choke-point which the Obama Administration has uncovered...
The good thing:
it's been a flat beautiful day. Light wind, cool in the morning and warm now, partly cloudy.
The bad:
It makes you want to plant things. Even though you KNOW there's going to be at least one more solid freeze(usually upper 20's) before it's over.
I also have to note that it's been kind of dry, and on windy days like yesterday all it takes is a spark or one idiot with something hot to burn a chunk of the state down.
Ah, Spring, thou art a heartless bitch(to paraphrase Sheldon).
The bad:
It makes you want to plant things. Even though you KNOW there's going to be at least one more solid freeze(usually upper 20's) before it's over.
I also have to note that it's been kind of dry, and on windy days like yesterday all it takes is a spark or one idiot with something hot to burn a chunk of the state down.
Ah, Spring, thou art a heartless bitch(to paraphrase Sheldon).
I may have to stop calling them Palisimians;
monkeys don't have this kind of evil mindset.
Five family members were found murdered in their residence in the West Bank Itamar settlement Friday overnight, after a suspected terrorist broke and entered the house and stabbed the five to death. Two children managed to escape and survived the attack, Army Radio reported.
A Magen David Adom team that arrived at the scene at 1:00 a.m. announced a couple, their 11-year old child, 3-year-old toddler, and a one-month baby girl dead from stabbing wounds.
Bad, right? Worse:
Gaza residents from the southern city of Rafah on Saturday poured out on the streets to celebrate the terror attack in West Bank settlement of Itamar, in which five family members were murdered in their sleep.
Residents handed out candy and sweets, one resident saying their joy "is a natural response to the harm settlers inflict on the Palestinian residents in the West Bank."
Just like they gave out candy and danced in the streets on 9/11.
God-damn these people. Both for what they do and what they teach their children to do.
Five family members were found murdered in their residence in the West Bank Itamar settlement Friday overnight, after a suspected terrorist broke and entered the house and stabbed the five to death. Two children managed to escape and survived the attack, Army Radio reported.
A Magen David Adom team that arrived at the scene at 1:00 a.m. announced a couple, their 11-year old child, 3-year-old toddler, and a one-month baby girl dead from stabbing wounds.
Bad, right? Worse:
Gaza residents from the southern city of Rafah on Saturday poured out on the streets to celebrate the terror attack in West Bank settlement of Itamar, in which five family members were murdered in their sleep.
Residents handed out candy and sweets, one resident saying their joy "is a natural response to the harm settlers inflict on the Palestinian residents in the West Bank."
Just like they gave out candy and danced in the streets on 9/11.
God-damn these people. Both for what they do and what they teach their children to do.
No wonder the bastards don't want to talk about the actual test
results on the machinery; and, as I recall, they've NEVER released the actual safety tests, have they?
The Transportation Security Administration announced Friday that it would retest every full-body X-ray scanner that emits ionizing radiation — 247 machines at 38 airports — after maintenance records on some of the devices showed radiation levels 10 times higher than expected.
The TSA says that the records reflect math mistakes and that all the machines are safe. Indeed, even the highest readings listed on some of the records — the numbers that the TSA says were mistakes — appear to be many times less than what the agency says a person absorbs through one day of natural background radiation.
Even so, the TSA has ordered the new tests out of "an abundance of caution to reassure the public," spokesman Nicholas Kimball says. The tests will be finished by the end of the month, and the results will be released "as they are completed," the agency said on its website.
A: Why should we trust them?
B: I wonder how long it will take for them to be 'completed'? And how they'll be edited before release?
The Transportation Security Administration announced Friday that it would retest every full-body X-ray scanner that emits ionizing radiation — 247 machines at 38 airports — after maintenance records on some of the devices showed radiation levels 10 times higher than expected.
The TSA says that the records reflect math mistakes and that all the machines are safe. Indeed, even the highest readings listed on some of the records — the numbers that the TSA says were mistakes — appear to be many times less than what the agency says a person absorbs through one day of natural background radiation.
Even so, the TSA has ordered the new tests out of "an abundance of caution to reassure the public," spokesman Nicholas Kimball says. The tests will be finished by the end of the month, and the results will be released "as they are completed," the agency said on its website.
A: Why should we trust them?
B: I wonder how long it will take for them to be 'completed'? And how they'll be edited before release?
Friday, March 11, 2011
That IS a good question for the FBI:
Second, red flags had to be going off in Clarksburg, WV where the FBI was processing all those NICS checks before allowing the sales to go through. The FBI has not been mentioned in connection with Operation Gunwalker previously but these sales could not have been processed without their assistance. This leads to the question of what the FBI knew about this investigation and were they ordered by higher-ups in the Justice Department to provide assistance to ATF's ongoing investigation. If so, who?
I've read of people who bought five handguns at one time getting a visit from the feds to ask 'who and why'; but it sure didn't happen here.
I've read of people who bought five handguns at one time getting a visit from the feds to ask 'who and why'; but it sure didn't happen here.
Tam's words
and a modification. The original:
The Mexican government is all upset at US law enforcement agents standing by and allowing guns to be smuggled into Mexico, which is a change of pace from the usual American anger at Mexican law enforcement agents standing by and allowing drugs and illegal immigrants to be smuggled into the US.
The modified in comments:
The Mexican government is all upset at US law enforcement agents helping guns to be smuggled into Mexico, which is a change of pace from the usual American anger at Mexican law enforcement agents helping drugs and illegal immigrants to be smuggled into the US.
and Tam's close:
In the Mexican government's defense, at least their cops are on the take and not doing it as a matter of agency policy.
The Mexican government is all upset at US law enforcement agents standing by and allowing guns to be smuggled into Mexico, which is a change of pace from the usual American anger at Mexican law enforcement agents standing by and allowing drugs and illegal immigrants to be smuggled into the US.
The modified in comments:
The Mexican government is all upset at US law enforcement agents helping guns to be smuggled into Mexico, which is a change of pace from the usual American anger at Mexican law enforcement agents helping drugs and illegal immigrants to be smuggled into the US.
and Tam's close:
In the Mexican government's defense, at least their cops are on the take and not doing it as a matter of agency policy.
Oh, for God's sake
There's no excuse for this.
A stumbling Framingham SWAT officer accidentally fired his rifle and shot a beloved grandpa to death as he lay face-down on the floor of his own home, authorities admitted yesterday, sparking incredulous outrage by the 68-year-old retiree’s family.
Bad, right? Read:
“As he stepped to his left, (Duncan) lost his balance and began to fall over backwards,” the report states. “Officer Duncan realized that his right foot was off the floor and the tactical equipment that he was wearing was making his movements very awkward. While falling, Officer Duncan removed his left hand from his rifle, which was pointing down towards the ground and put his left arm out to try and catch himself. As he did so, he heard a shot.”
Yeah. 'Heard a shot' because he had the safety off and pulled the trigger. Either incompetence or stupidity or both.
This, to my mind, makes it even worse:
On Jan. 5, police were searching for Stamps’ stepson, Joseph Bushfan, when they served a warrant on Stamps’ home. Bushfan was arrested outside the home, allegedly carrying crack cocaine and money.
Officers then hit the home, throwing a stun grenade and ordering everyone inside to put their hands up and lie on the floor, the report states. Stamps, a grandfather of 12, had obeyed and was lying in the hallway when Duncan attempted to cuff and frisk him.
So they've already arrested the guy they were after; so I'm curious as to why they decided they still had to throw grenades and kick doors and all the other Special Ninja-Suit-Wearing Officer stuff? I'm hoping they actually HAD a damned reason other than "Because we can and wanted to."
No, I'm not much willing to give benefit of the doubt anymore on crap like this.
A stumbling Framingham SWAT officer accidentally fired his rifle and shot a beloved grandpa to death as he lay face-down on the floor of his own home, authorities admitted yesterday, sparking incredulous outrage by the 68-year-old retiree’s family.
Bad, right? Read:
“As he stepped to his left, (Duncan) lost his balance and began to fall over backwards,” the report states. “Officer Duncan realized that his right foot was off the floor and the tactical equipment that he was wearing was making his movements very awkward. While falling, Officer Duncan removed his left hand from his rifle, which was pointing down towards the ground and put his left arm out to try and catch himself. As he did so, he heard a shot.”
Yeah. 'Heard a shot' because he had the safety off and pulled the trigger. Either incompetence or stupidity or both.
This, to my mind, makes it even worse:
On Jan. 5, police were searching for Stamps’ stepson, Joseph Bushfan, when they served a warrant on Stamps’ home. Bushfan was arrested outside the home, allegedly carrying crack cocaine and money.
Officers then hit the home, throwing a stun grenade and ordering everyone inside to put their hands up and lie on the floor, the report states. Stamps, a grandfather of 12, had obeyed and was lying in the hallway when Duncan attempted to cuff and frisk him.
So they've already arrested the guy they were after; so I'm curious as to why they decided they still had to throw grenades and kick doors and all the other Special Ninja-Suit-Wearing Officer stuff? I'm hoping they actually HAD a damned reason other than "Because we can and wanted to."
No, I'm not much willing to give benefit of the doubt anymore on crap like this.
Important people died while the 'news' worries about
a drug-addled fool.
“Charlie Sheen is all over the news because he’s a celebrity drug addict,” it said, “while Andrew Wilfahrt 31, Brian Tabada 21, Rudolph Hizon 22, Chauncy Mays 25, are soldiers who gave their lives this week with no media mention. Please honor them by posting this as your status for a little while.”
“Charlie Sheen is all over the news because he’s a celebrity drug addict,” it said, “while Andrew Wilfahrt 31, Brian Tabada 21, Rudolph Hizon 22, Chauncy Mays 25, are soldiers who gave their lives this week with no media mention. Please honor them by posting this as your status for a little while.”
Well, well, TSA lied about the cost of private screening
vs. TSA molesters; I'd ask if anyone was really surprised, but I know the answer.
Five airports recently have applied to join the SPP but have been denied by TSA officials, Mr. Mica said.
In January, TSA Administrator John Pistole announced those applications were being refused and that no other airports would be allowed to participate in SPP unless they could demonstrate a “clear and substantial advantage” in doing so.
And TSA gets to decide what a “clear and substantial advantage” is, of course.
Plain citizen can't find some receipt, or takes bad advice from the IRS, their whole life is screwed; wonder if anybody at this agency will actually get in trouble over this?
A Texas man who helped the FBI defuse a plot to firebomb the 2008 Republican National Convention is suing the New York Times for libel for claiming he was part of the violent conspiracy.
Hope he's able to hang their ass on the wall.
Hmmm.
The author of a book on the Oklahoma City bombing says a homeless man arrested in Quincy on Wednesday is the same man identified by several witnesses to the bombing as having been with Timothy McVeigh on the day of the deadly attack.
Quincy Police on Thursday spoke with the author and notified the FBI of the arrest of Hussain Al-Hussaini for slashing a man’s face with a beer bottle.
...
Both Dougan and the author of the Oklahoma City book said the man arrested in Quincy also has a tattoo on his arm that matches the description of one on the arm of the man in the book.
“His age, his name, the picture, the mugshot, that’s him,” the author of “The Third Terrorist,” Jayna Davis, told The Patriot Ledger in a telephone interview.
Damn.
The dog handler was killed in a firefight with the Taliban - and his body returned to the UK on the same flight as the ashes of his devoted Army search dog Theo.
The springer spaniel suffered a seizure and died shortly after his master was killed last week.
So NPR lied- again- and they're nailed for it. I'm sure there'll be lots of excuses made why we shouldn't care.
But we do.
“I’d almost be willing to get a job in order to participate in A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE.”
"No, dude, not that! Not at JOB!!"
On the current Gunwalker investigations,
Lawmakers in Mexico are demanding an investigation into a U.S. law enforcement operation that allowed hundreds of weapons to flow into the hands of Mexican drug cartels amid claims from a ranking legislator that at least 150 Mexicans have been killed or wounded by guns trafficked by smugglers under the watch of U.S. agents.
Let's note those are the guns DOJ and BATFE say 'never made it across the border'.
Mexican politicians have criticized the ATF program as a violation of Mexico's sovereignty and evidence of U.S. arrogance toward its southern neighbor.
More like certain officials thinking "What's a few more dead in Mexico if it helps us increase our budget and push laws we want?"
I flat fucking hate saying this, but I agree with Vanderboegh:
Backfired?
Backfired?!?
Bull.
Remember one thing -- apart from the fact that it was compromised by the ATF whistleblowers, "FAST AND FURIOUS" WORKED AS INTENDED. Hell, they're still trying to make it work, even now when the whole thing has been exposed as Fireman Friendly's secret life as a killer arsonist.
Right now BATFE and DOJ are trying to claim this was a wonderful idea that failed 'because you didn't give us more funding and authority'. I fear that he's absolutely right: they did this to pump up numbers and increase the carnage so they could use it to demand more gun laws and more restrictions and more power for them.
I still tend to think of LE as generally being good guys; when a piece of vicious idiocy like this shows people in control of powerful agencies are willing to do things like this to push political and personal ends and screw the damage done, I get a sick, disgusted feeling. Bad enough when some bastards fake-up stuff for warrants so they can put on ninja suits and kick doors, bad enough when a street officer demonstrates contempt for that Constitution he swore to uphold; enormously worse when the people in charge of whole agencies do things like this. And it again brings up "Why should I ever trust you again? You've given me reason for nothing but distrust."
Go over to Sipsey and start working down: lots more new stuff, and right now I don't really have the stomach to go through all of it here.
Five airports recently have applied to join the SPP but have been denied by TSA officials, Mr. Mica said.
In January, TSA Administrator John Pistole announced those applications were being refused and that no other airports would be allowed to participate in SPP unless they could demonstrate a “clear and substantial advantage” in doing so.
And TSA gets to decide what a “clear and substantial advantage” is, of course.
Plain citizen can't find some receipt, or takes bad advice from the IRS, their whole life is screwed; wonder if anybody at this agency will actually get in trouble over this?
A Texas man who helped the FBI defuse a plot to firebomb the 2008 Republican National Convention is suing the New York Times for libel for claiming he was part of the violent conspiracy.
Hope he's able to hang their ass on the wall.
Hmmm.
The author of a book on the Oklahoma City bombing says a homeless man arrested in Quincy on Wednesday is the same man identified by several witnesses to the bombing as having been with Timothy McVeigh on the day of the deadly attack.
Quincy Police on Thursday spoke with the author and notified the FBI of the arrest of Hussain Al-Hussaini for slashing a man’s face with a beer bottle.
...
Both Dougan and the author of the Oklahoma City book said the man arrested in Quincy also has a tattoo on his arm that matches the description of one on the arm of the man in the book.
“His age, his name, the picture, the mugshot, that’s him,” the author of “The Third Terrorist,” Jayna Davis, told The Patriot Ledger in a telephone interview.
Damn.
The dog handler was killed in a firefight with the Taliban - and his body returned to the UK on the same flight as the ashes of his devoted Army search dog Theo.
The springer spaniel suffered a seizure and died shortly after his master was killed last week.
So NPR lied- again- and they're nailed for it. I'm sure there'll be lots of excuses made why we shouldn't care.
But we do.
“I’d almost be willing to get a job in order to participate in A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE.”
"No, dude, not that! Not at JOB!!"
On the current Gunwalker investigations,
Lawmakers in Mexico are demanding an investigation into a U.S. law enforcement operation that allowed hundreds of weapons to flow into the hands of Mexican drug cartels amid claims from a ranking legislator that at least 150 Mexicans have been killed or wounded by guns trafficked by smugglers under the watch of U.S. agents.
Let's note those are the guns DOJ and BATFE say 'never made it across the border'.
Mexican politicians have criticized the ATF program as a violation of Mexico's sovereignty and evidence of U.S. arrogance toward its southern neighbor.
More like certain officials thinking "What's a few more dead in Mexico if it helps us increase our budget and push laws we want?"
I flat fucking hate saying this, but I agree with Vanderboegh:
Backfired?
Backfired?!?
Bull.
Remember one thing -- apart from the fact that it was compromised by the ATF whistleblowers, "FAST AND FURIOUS" WORKED AS INTENDED. Hell, they're still trying to make it work, even now when the whole thing has been exposed as Fireman Friendly's secret life as a killer arsonist.
Right now BATFE and DOJ are trying to claim this was a wonderful idea that failed 'because you didn't give us more funding and authority'. I fear that he's absolutely right: they did this to pump up numbers and increase the carnage so they could use it to demand more gun laws and more restrictions and more power for them.
I still tend to think of LE as generally being good guys; when a piece of vicious idiocy like this shows people in control of powerful agencies are willing to do things like this to push political and personal ends and screw the damage done, I get a sick, disgusted feeling. Bad enough when some bastards fake-up stuff for warrants so they can put on ninja suits and kick doors, bad enough when a street officer demonstrates contempt for that Constitution he swore to uphold; enormously worse when the people in charge of whole agencies do things like this. And it again brings up "Why should I ever trust you again? You've given me reason for nothing but distrust."
Go over to Sipsey and start working down: lots more new stuff, and right now I don't really have the stomach to go through all of it here.
That's one big damn quake
The magnitude 8.9 offshore quake unleashed a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours, many of them of more than magnitude 6.0.
Quake off the east coast of Japan; lots of damage there from the quake and tsunami, this report says more than 200 dead. And tsunami warnings all over the Pacific. A bunch of videos here, though when the site opens you have to listen to a Jag commercial before the first plays. And the commentator can't help making a idiot statement about 'places threatened by global warming' while talking about the whirlpool.
One thing strikes me: Japan, quake this size and all the aftermath, several hundred dead; quake this size hits a second- or(especially) third-world area you'd have thousands already. Advancing to better ways makes a big difference.
Quake off the east coast of Japan; lots of damage there from the quake and tsunami, this report says more than 200 dead. And tsunami warnings all over the Pacific. A bunch of videos here, though when the site opens you have to listen to a Jag commercial before the first plays. And the commentator can't help making a idiot statement about 'places threatened by global warming' while talking about the whirlpool.
One thing strikes me: Japan, quake this size and all the aftermath, several hundred dead; quake this size hits a second- or(especially) third-world area you'd have thousands already. Advancing to better ways makes a big difference.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
For some reason this didn't catch me earlier:
The people who sent the long, detailed death threat to a bunch of WI senators signed it.
I wonder if the police will start acting like lawmen, or will diddle around until somebody dies?
And will, this time, there be any consequences for these dirtbags?
I wonder if the police will start acting like lawmen, or will diddle around until somebody dies?
And will, this time, there be any consequences for these dirtbags?
Multiple things getting very interesting
Possible use by nerve gas by the government in Yemen?
"The material in this gas makes people convulse for hours. It paralyses them. They couldn't move at all. We tried to give them oxygen but it didn't work," said Amaar Nujaim, a field doctor who works for Islamic Relief.
"We are seeing symptoms in the patient's nerves, not in their respiratory systems. I'm 90 per cent sure its nerve gas and not tear gas that was used," said Sami Zaid, a doctor at the Science and Technology Hospital in Sanaa.
If true, major escalation in use of force. And opens a very big can of carnivorous worms.
DOJ, BATFE and their apologists- hell, their enablers- in Congress are trying very hard to make Gunwalker disappear.
...but sources on the Hill say Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy won't allow it, refusing to call for an independent congressional investigation.
And the only reason for him to refuse is he's trying to help cover up this crap. Leahy sucks on so many levels they could probably put him in a room to test vacuum suits.
The North is believed to be nearing completion of an electromagnetic pulse bomb that, if exploded 25 miles above ground would cause irreversible damage to electrical and electronic devices such as mobile phones, computers, radio and radar, experts say.
A nut-level communist tyranny who sells things to terrorists with a EMP bomb... oh yeah, that's just freaking wonderful.
The 46-year-old lured his wife to the television studio where the couple worked on Feb. 12, 2009. He then attacked her with a pair of hunting knives, stabbed her 40 times, then severed her head.
...
The husband claimed as his defense that his wife was abusive toward him and that his actions were justified, claiming he suffered from battered spouse syndrome.
Uh, yeah. Right.
"The prosecution has never asked, who started it?" the killer said during his trial, WIVB 4 News in Buffalo reported. "They never asked the question, who started it? That is the core question that needs to be answered."
Not really, counselor. And 25-to-life, assuming they actually keep the bastard in, is about right(considering the state).
To the cops in Wisconsin who can't/won't be bothered to live up to their oath: Screw You. You're a disgrace to the badge you wear. And you're telling people that if they're not of an 'approved' class by you and your union, they can't expect you to protect them when called on; which means when the time comes and they have to protect themselves, any blood spilled is at least partly on your hands, you bastards.
Speaking of union thugs and Democrats(bit of an overlap there, we have this:
Legislators can get into the building, but Republicans are being blocked from getting to their offices and into the Assembly chamber. It's the Assembly that needs to vote on the bill that the Senate passed last night, leading to the renewed protests. Meade heard from a source that Democratic legislators unlocked at least one door that leads to the doors for a cluster of Republican legislative offices. That would appear to be part of a scheme to prevent the vote.
"This is what democracy looks like" — that's the chant we've heard for 3 weeks. How do you like this new democracy, that has a mob storming the Capitol and, with the aid of the minority party, blocking the access of the majority party into their offices and into the legislative chamber? It looks more like anarchy to me.
and this:
Among the threats the Justice Department is investigationg is one that was emailed to Republican Senators Wednesday night. Newsradio 620 WTMJ has obtained that email.
The following is the unedited email:
Please put your things in order because you will be killed and your familes
will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks. Please explain
to them that this is because if we get rid of you and your families then it
will save the rights of 300,000 people and also be able to close the deficit
that you have created. I hope you have a good time in hell. Read below for
more information on possible scenarios in which you will die.
"We're going to kill you and your family, for the greater good of course." Go read the whole thing: bombs, mass-murder, etc. Fine progressive ideals. Time to arm up. And if the cop bitch about it, point out that their credibility as enforcers of the law has been trashed by their own actions.
"The material in this gas makes people convulse for hours. It paralyses them. They couldn't move at all. We tried to give them oxygen but it didn't work," said Amaar Nujaim, a field doctor who works for Islamic Relief.
"We are seeing symptoms in the patient's nerves, not in their respiratory systems. I'm 90 per cent sure its nerve gas and not tear gas that was used," said Sami Zaid, a doctor at the Science and Technology Hospital in Sanaa.
If true, major escalation in use of force. And opens a very big can of carnivorous worms.
DOJ, BATFE and their apologists- hell, their enablers- in Congress are trying very hard to make Gunwalker disappear.
...but sources on the Hill say Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy won't allow it, refusing to call for an independent congressional investigation.
And the only reason for him to refuse is he's trying to help cover up this crap. Leahy sucks on so many levels they could probably put him in a room to test vacuum suits.
The North is believed to be nearing completion of an electromagnetic pulse bomb that, if exploded 25 miles above ground would cause irreversible damage to electrical and electronic devices such as mobile phones, computers, radio and radar, experts say.
A nut-level communist tyranny who sells things to terrorists with a EMP bomb... oh yeah, that's just freaking wonderful.
The 46-year-old lured his wife to the television studio where the couple worked on Feb. 12, 2009. He then attacked her with a pair of hunting knives, stabbed her 40 times, then severed her head.
...
The husband claimed as his defense that his wife was abusive toward him and that his actions were justified, claiming he suffered from battered spouse syndrome.
Uh, yeah. Right.
"The prosecution has never asked, who started it?" the killer said during his trial, WIVB 4 News in Buffalo reported. "They never asked the question, who started it? That is the core question that needs to be answered."
Not really, counselor. And 25-to-life, assuming they actually keep the bastard in, is about right(considering the state).
To the cops in Wisconsin who can't/won't be bothered to live up to their oath: Screw You. You're a disgrace to the badge you wear. And you're telling people that if they're not of an 'approved' class by you and your union, they can't expect you to protect them when called on; which means when the time comes and they have to protect themselves, any blood spilled is at least partly on your hands, you bastards.
Speaking of union thugs and Democrats(bit of an overlap there, we have this:
Legislators can get into the building, but Republicans are being blocked from getting to their offices and into the Assembly chamber. It's the Assembly that needs to vote on the bill that the Senate passed last night, leading to the renewed protests. Meade heard from a source that Democratic legislators unlocked at least one door that leads to the doors for a cluster of Republican legislative offices. That would appear to be part of a scheme to prevent the vote.
"This is what democracy looks like" — that's the chant we've heard for 3 weeks. How do you like this new democracy, that has a mob storming the Capitol and, with the aid of the minority party, blocking the access of the majority party into their offices and into the legislative chamber? It looks more like anarchy to me.
and this:
Among the threats the Justice Department is investigationg is one that was emailed to Republican Senators Wednesday night. Newsradio 620 WTMJ has obtained that email.
The following is the unedited email:
Please put your things in order because you will be killed and your familes
will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks. Please explain
to them that this is because if we get rid of you and your families then it
will save the rights of 300,000 people and also be able to close the deficit
that you have created. I hope you have a good time in hell. Read below for
more information on possible scenarios in which you will die.
"We're going to kill you and your family, for the greater good of course." Go read the whole thing: bombs, mass-murder, etc. Fine progressive ideals. Time to arm up. And if the cop bitch about it, point out that their credibility as enforcers of the law has been trashed by their own actions.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
So, make your choice: is Napolitano
A: Lying
B: That lax about knowing what's going on in the organization she's in charge of
I'm going with A. I have a hard time believing she would NOT know she had even one person taking part in an operation like this. We also know about the orders to use beanbags first, so this:
Grassley also wanted to know if Terry's team was under standing orders to use non-lethal force even against bandits clearly armed with assault rifles.
"I have asked that question, and my information is absolutely not," Napolitano said.
is bullshit. Note the 'my information is' crap, so she can later say "The information I had then was incorrect." So I believe.
B: That lax about knowing what's going on in the organization she's in charge of
I'm going with A. I have a hard time believing she would NOT know she had even one person taking part in an operation like this. We also know about the orders to use beanbags first, so this:
Grassley also wanted to know if Terry's team was under standing orders to use non-lethal force even against bandits clearly armed with assault rifles.
"I have asked that question, and my information is absolutely not," Napolitano said.
is bullshit. Note the 'my information is' crap, so she can later say "The information I had then was incorrect." So I believe.
Think I'll pass on the Land Rover...
everything leaked, things broke easily, it often had electrical fires, the steering was as useful in guiding the thing down the road as divining, and the noise the straight gears made obviated the need for any kind of radio. I have had more pleseant driving experiences bungee corded to the top of a bus in the rain.
...
...The momentary pleasure you’ll have in pride of ownership will be eclipsed the first time it strands you along the road, which will be on the way home from the dealership.
I like working on things, but when it comes to my transportation, unless I have something specifically to screw around with, I want the damn thing to work. All the time. Regular maintenance is one thing, having to carry a full set of tools and a shop manual so as to make sure you get where you're going, well, that just flat sucks.
...
...The momentary pleasure you’ll have in pride of ownership will be eclipsed the first time it strands you along the road, which will be on the way home from the dealership.
I like working on things, but when it comes to my transportation, unless I have something specifically to screw around with, I want the damn thing to work. All the time. Regular maintenance is one thing, having to carry a full set of tools and a shop manual so as to make sure you get where you're going, well, that just flat sucks.
The new TOW is nasty
Notice it detonates above the turret so it can strike down at the thinnest armor on the tank.
And they could do a live field test in Libya, just sneak some SpecOps people over the borders...
Found at Theo's
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
More than one Gunwalker?
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allegedly let gun runners walk off with weapons - thousands of them - to see if they'd end up in the hands of the cartels. The Justice Department and ATF have denied it ever happened.
Special Agent John Dodson works in ATF's Phoenix office and has blown the whistle on the controversial strategy, known as letting guns "walk."
Dodson believes there are other ATF operations going on that have done the same thing.
Multiple sources now tell CBS News the questionable tactics were used in more than one operation, and date back as far as 2008 in the Tucson area. One case was called "Wide Receiver."
Sources tell CBS News licensed gun dealers often wanted no part of selling to suspicious characters who could be supplying the cartels.
But, sources say, ATF enlisted the gun dealers as paid Confidential Informants and encouraged them to sell even more.
"ATF has asked me to assist in an official investigation," reads one agreement.
My, my, my, isn't this interesting? We have DOJ and BATFE flat lying about having done this(which never really goes over well with politicians asking questions, especially when people are dead) and now this.
And, along with the other idiocies listed here(why the hell would you send people to work in a country and not be sure to find/train people in the language? Unless you didn't care if they did or didn't want them to actually succeed...), we have this:
The brazen daylight shooting has raised new worries about Mexico's longstanding ban on U.S. agents carrying weapons in most circumstances.
"Ever since Jaime Zapata was killed, the game has changed. They're killing federal agents now," one agent said. "If we got $20 million tomorrow to fully staff every office in Mexico, guys would say, 'We're not going. You won't protect us. The Mexican government won't protect us, and the U.S. government won't let me protect myself.' "
I wonder if Obama even considered that his 'No armed US agents in Mexico' policy might cause this particular problem?
Special Agent John Dodson works in ATF's Phoenix office and has blown the whistle on the controversial strategy, known as letting guns "walk."
Dodson believes there are other ATF operations going on that have done the same thing.
Multiple sources now tell CBS News the questionable tactics were used in more than one operation, and date back as far as 2008 in the Tucson area. One case was called "Wide Receiver."
Sources tell CBS News licensed gun dealers often wanted no part of selling to suspicious characters who could be supplying the cartels.
But, sources say, ATF enlisted the gun dealers as paid Confidential Informants and encouraged them to sell even more.
"ATF has asked me to assist in an official investigation," reads one agreement.
My, my, my, isn't this interesting? We have DOJ and BATFE flat lying about having done this(which never really goes over well with politicians asking questions, especially when people are dead) and now this.
And, along with the other idiocies listed here(why the hell would you send people to work in a country and not be sure to find/train people in the language? Unless you didn't care if they did or didn't want them to actually succeed...), we have this:
The brazen daylight shooting has raised new worries about Mexico's longstanding ban on U.S. agents carrying weapons in most circumstances.
"Ever since Jaime Zapata was killed, the game has changed. They're killing federal agents now," one agent said. "If we got $20 million tomorrow to fully staff every office in Mexico, guys would say, 'We're not going. You won't protect us. The Mexican government won't protect us, and the U.S. government won't let me protect myself.' "
I wonder if Obama even considered that his 'No armed US agents in Mexico' policy might cause this particular problem?
I'd change it slightly
In the end, the difference between a mugger and a Nazi concentration camp commander or communist party commissar is the scale, not the mindset
People like Horwitz cannot be trusted
From Josh Horwitz, ED of the Coalition to Stop Gun Ownership (or more likely his trained puppet Ladd Everitt):
When this was refuted, CSGV employee 'Grits Jr.' opined:
So 'only' 75 people had their guns illegally confiscated (even though there were hundreds more not found) and the city was found in contempt of court for denying even that.
So what would be a 'mass confiscation' in the mind of a gun control advocate? 100? 200? What would it take for them to consider it to be 'unreasonable'?
These people will lie to you, and then try to say their lie doesn't actually count 'because'.
" Following Hurricane Katrina, the NRA promoted a conspiracy theory about mass gun confiscations in Katrina..."
When this was refuted, CSGV employee 'Grits Jr.' opined:
The NRA had to hire private investigators and located only 75 New Orleans residents (in a city with a pre-Katrina population of 450,000) that would claim their guns were confiscated.
So 'only' 75 people had their guns illegally confiscated (even though there were hundreds more not found) and the city was found in contempt of court for denying even that.
So what would be a 'mass confiscation' in the mind of a gun control advocate? 100? 200? What would it take for them to consider it to be 'unreasonable'?
These people will lie to you, and then try to say their lie doesn't actually count 'because'.
Ammo recall
PRODUCT WARNING AND RECALL NOTICE
WINCHESTER® RANGER® LAW ENFORCEMENT 223 Remington 64 Grain Power-Point®
3/1/2011
Olin Corporation, through its Winchester Division, is recalling six (6) lots of its RANGER® 223 Remington 64 Grain Power-Point® (PP) centerfire rifle ammunition (Symbol Number RA223R2).
Lot Numbers (last four characters): DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41, and DK51
Through extensive evaluation Winchester has determined the above lots of RANGER® Law Enforcement ammunition may contain incorrect propellant. Incorrect propellant in this ammunition may cause firearm damage, rendering the firearm inoperable, and subject the shooter or bystanders to a risk of serious personal injury when fired.
DO NOT USE WINCHESTER® RANGER® 223 REMINGTON 64 GRAIN POWER-POINT® AMMUNITION THAT HAS A LOT NUMBER ENDING IN DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41 or DK51. The ammunition Lot Number is ink stamped inside the right tuck flap of the 20-round carton, as indicated here:
To determine if your ammunition is subject to this notice, review the Lot Number. If the last four characters of the Lot Number are DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41 or DK51 immediately discontinue use and contact Winchester toll-free at 866-423-5224 to arrange for replacement ammunition and free UPS pick-up of the recalled ammunition.
This notice applies only to RANGER® 223 Remington 64 Grain Power-Point® centerfire rifle ammunition with lot numbers ending in DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41, and DK51. Other Symbol Numbers or Lot Numbers are not subject to this recall.
If you have any questions concerning this RANGER® Law Enforcement ammunition recall please call toll-free 866-423-5224, write to Winchester (600 Powder Mill Road, East Alton, IL 62024 Attn: RA223R2 Recall), or visit our website at www.winchester.com.
We apologize for this inconvenience.
I added an update to the 'Real Reason' post a couple of days ago
but I think it should be noted in a new post as well. On the possibility of corrupt agents being behind Gunwalker, no. Involved in, possibly, but not behind it. This was set up at high levels involving not just BATFE but DOJ and the State Department, looks like.
"Do you think," he asked me, "that this happened accidentally in a vacuum?" Meaning that one day "Gunwalker Bill" Newell, Phoenix SAC, just got a wild hair and decided to invent his own foreign policy. "Things like this happen because of meetings. People sit in meetings and they decide what they want to happen. And then they take decisions, make policy and implement that policy to achieve those ends." He added, "That's why State is so nervous. They signed off on this. In a meeting."
Gunrunner, I pointed out to him, predated the Obama administration. "Yes, but 'walking guns' didn't." I told him it seemed to me that given the dates on the documents that the meetings crafting this policy must have taken place sometime in mid-2009. "And who took power in January, 2009?" he replied.
I still think empire building by some people is a factor, but only one. Quite possibly the big one:
...Something that fit the meme of "we've got to tighten up on American gunowners, gun stores and gun shows because they are feeding the slaughter." Mexico was perfect. The ATF controlled the reporting of the statistics, the headlines were lurid and if the rest of us gunnies knew that you don't get automatic weapons, hand grenades and RPGs from gun shows and gun stores, most of the American people were too ignorant of the issue to care about the distinction. But the fact was, as the IG report and other sources concluded, the amount of weapons from those legitimate American sources did not meet the allegation. More importantly the statistics didn't meet the policy need. So, how to "fix" that? Project Gunwalker. If there weren't enough semi-auto "assault rifles" in Mexico, the ATF could fix that. And the murders would follow, justifying the policy change of cracking down on "assault rifles," gun shows and the like.
"So," I said, "you're saying that this was a deliberate attempt by policymakers at the highest levels of the Obama administration to subvert the Second Amendment and further diminish the free exercise of firearm rights of honest citizens?"
"You got it. Sucks, huh?" He laughed bitterly.
Unfortunately, entirely possible. Obama has a long history of hostility to the 2nd Amendment, so does Hillary Clinton. And the upper levels of the Democrat party and a lot of their supporters. Combine that with the past actions of a lot of BATFE brass and it's very believable.
"Do you think," he asked me, "that this happened accidentally in a vacuum?" Meaning that one day "Gunwalker Bill" Newell, Phoenix SAC, just got a wild hair and decided to invent his own foreign policy. "Things like this happen because of meetings. People sit in meetings and they decide what they want to happen. And then they take decisions, make policy and implement that policy to achieve those ends." He added, "That's why State is so nervous. They signed off on this. In a meeting."
Gunrunner, I pointed out to him, predated the Obama administration. "Yes, but 'walking guns' didn't." I told him it seemed to me that given the dates on the documents that the meetings crafting this policy must have taken place sometime in mid-2009. "And who took power in January, 2009?" he replied.
I still think empire building by some people is a factor, but only one. Quite possibly the big one:
...Something that fit the meme of "we've got to tighten up on American gunowners, gun stores and gun shows because they are feeding the slaughter." Mexico was perfect. The ATF controlled the reporting of the statistics, the headlines were lurid and if the rest of us gunnies knew that you don't get automatic weapons, hand grenades and RPGs from gun shows and gun stores, most of the American people were too ignorant of the issue to care about the distinction. But the fact was, as the IG report and other sources concluded, the amount of weapons from those legitimate American sources did not meet the allegation. More importantly the statistics didn't meet the policy need. So, how to "fix" that? Project Gunwalker. If there weren't enough semi-auto "assault rifles" in Mexico, the ATF could fix that. And the murders would follow, justifying the policy change of cracking down on "assault rifles," gun shows and the like.
"So," I said, "you're saying that this was a deliberate attempt by policymakers at the highest levels of the Obama administration to subvert the Second Amendment and further diminish the free exercise of firearm rights of honest citizens?"
"You got it. Sucks, huh?" He laughed bitterly.
Unfortunately, entirely possible. Obama has a long history of hostility to the 2nd Amendment, so does Hillary Clinton. And the upper levels of the Democrat party and a lot of their supporters. Combine that with the past actions of a lot of BATFE brass and it's very believable.
If Planned Parenthood has enough money for this,
they don't need any money taken from us in taxes. They do need to be told to go to hell.
The World Association of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides hosted a no-adults-welcome panel at the United Nations this week where Planned Parenthood was allowed to distribute a brochure entitled “Healthy, Happy and Hot.” The event was part of the annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) which concludes this week.
...
The brochure also tells students that national laws requiring HIV-positive people to reveal their status to their partner(s) “violate the rights of people living with HIV” and calls for advocacy to “change laws that violate your rights.” It explains, “There are many reasons that people do not share their HIV status. … They may worry that people will find out something else they have kept secret, like they are using injecting drugs, having sex outside of a marriage or having sex with people of the same gender.”
Yeah, because it's no bother for someone you want to screw to not know you have a disease, oh no. And notice the no-adults-welcome bit? It's like they don't want people like parents to know what they're teaching, isn't it?
The World Association of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides hosted a no-adults-welcome panel at the United Nations this week where Planned Parenthood was allowed to distribute a brochure entitled “Healthy, Happy and Hot.” The event was part of the annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) which concludes this week.
...
The brochure also tells students that national laws requiring HIV-positive people to reveal their status to their partner(s) “violate the rights of people living with HIV” and calls for advocacy to “change laws that violate your rights.” It explains, “There are many reasons that people do not share their HIV status. … They may worry that people will find out something else they have kept secret, like they are using injecting drugs, having sex outside of a marriage or having sex with people of the same gender.”
Yeah, because it's no bother for someone you want to screw to not know you have a disease, oh no. And notice the no-adults-welcome bit? It's like they don't want people like parents to know what they're teaching, isn't it?
Ah, those wonderful people at NPR
Later in the lunch, Schiller explains that NPR would be better positioned free of federal funding. “Well frankly, it is clear that we would be better off in the long-run without federal funding,” he says. “The challenge right now is that if we lost it all together we would have a lot of stations go dark.”
When one of O’Keefe’s associates asked, “How confident are you, with all the donors that are available, if they should pull the funding right now that you would survive?,” Schiller answered this way: “Yes, NPR would definitely survive and most of the stations would survive.”
That is precisely the opposite answer Schiller’s boss, NPR CEO Vivian Schiller (no relation), gave at a press conference Monday in Washington. “We take [federal defunding] very, very seriously,” she said. “It would have a profound impact we believe on our ability – of public broadcasting’s ability – to deliver news and information.”
So, which one is lying? I'd bet on Schiller.
At the Café Milano lunch, Schiller said he’s “very proud of” how NPR fired Juan Williams. “What NPR stood for is non-racist, non-bigoted, straightforward telling of the news and our feeling is that if a person expresses his or her opinion, which anyone is entitled to do in a free society, they are compromised as a journalist,” he said. “They can no longer fairly report.”
Why doesn't that include Nina Totenberg?
With that, Schiller once again directly contradicted NPR’s public statements. At her Monday press conference, Vivian Schiller apologized for the way it handled the Williams matter. “We handled the situation badly,” she said. “We acted too hastily and we made some mistakes. I made some mistakes.”
Of course, when you consider what else was being said at this lunch...
On the tapes, Schiller wastes little time before attacking conservatives. The Republican Party, Schiller says, has been “hijacked by this group.” The man posing as Malik finishes the sentence by adding, “the radical, racist, Islamaphobic, Tea Party people.” Schiller agrees and intensifies the criticism, saying that the Tea Party people aren’t “just Islamaphobic, but really xenophobic, I mean basically they are, they believe in sort of white, middle-America gun-toting. I mean, it’s scary. They’re seriously racist, racist people.
So I guess all the blacks and latinos and everything else who come to the tea parties are also racists and bigots, huh?
And we're getting our pockets picked to pay these clowns.
When one of O’Keefe’s associates asked, “How confident are you, with all the donors that are available, if they should pull the funding right now that you would survive?,” Schiller answered this way: “Yes, NPR would definitely survive and most of the stations would survive.”
That is precisely the opposite answer Schiller’s boss, NPR CEO Vivian Schiller (no relation), gave at a press conference Monday in Washington. “We take [federal defunding] very, very seriously,” she said. “It would have a profound impact we believe on our ability – of public broadcasting’s ability – to deliver news and information.”
So, which one is lying? I'd bet on Schiller.
At the Café Milano lunch, Schiller said he’s “very proud of” how NPR fired Juan Williams. “What NPR stood for is non-racist, non-bigoted, straightforward telling of the news and our feeling is that if a person expresses his or her opinion, which anyone is entitled to do in a free society, they are compromised as a journalist,” he said. “They can no longer fairly report.”
Why doesn't that include Nina Totenberg?
With that, Schiller once again directly contradicted NPR’s public statements. At her Monday press conference, Vivian Schiller apologized for the way it handled the Williams matter. “We handled the situation badly,” she said. “We acted too hastily and we made some mistakes. I made some mistakes.”
Of course, when you consider what else was being said at this lunch...
On the tapes, Schiller wastes little time before attacking conservatives. The Republican Party, Schiller says, has been “hijacked by this group.” The man posing as Malik finishes the sentence by adding, “the radical, racist, Islamaphobic, Tea Party people.” Schiller agrees and intensifies the criticism, saying that the Tea Party people aren’t “just Islamaphobic, but really xenophobic, I mean basically they are, they believe in sort of white, middle-America gun-toting. I mean, it’s scary. They’re seriously racist, racist people.
So I guess all the blacks and latinos and everything else who come to the tea parties are also racists and bigots, huh?
And we're getting our pockets picked to pay these clowns.
Monday, March 07, 2011
'Cornholing the future'
Courtesy of the ethanol lobbyists and the Obama Administration:
Global Dashboard catches the Obama Administration selectively explaining the causes for increasing world food prices:
“The increase in February mostly reflected further gains in international maize prices, driven by strong demand amid tightening supplies, while prices rose marginally in the case of wheat and fell slightly in the case of rice.”
“In other words, this is mainly about corn. And who’s the biggest corn exporter in the world? The United States…And where is 40% of US corn production going this year? Ethanol, for use in US car engines.”
And let us not forget that the industry- with help from a bunch of clowns in the Administration- wants to up it from 10% to 15% ethanol in fuel; and screw all the engines it'll damage and so forth.
Global Dashboard catches the Obama Administration selectively explaining the causes for increasing world food prices:
“The increase in February mostly reflected further gains in international maize prices, driven by strong demand amid tightening supplies, while prices rose marginally in the case of wheat and fell slightly in the case of rice.”
“In other words, this is mainly about corn. And who’s the biggest corn exporter in the world? The United States…And where is 40% of US corn production going this year? Ethanol, for use in US car engines.”
And let us not forget that the industry- with help from a bunch of clowns in the Administration- wants to up it from 10% to 15% ethanol in fuel; and screw all the engines it'll damage and so forth.
One of the interesting things about OK is the toys
the National Severe Storm Lab gets.
Navy ships originally used AEGIS phased array radar (called SPY-1) technology to protect naval battle groups from missile threats. Researchers believe the same technology has great potential for increasing lead-time for tornado warnings.
In 2000, the U.S. Navy agreed to loan a phased array antenna to NSSL and provided the $10,000,000 in funding to help build the National Weather Radar Testbed (NWRT).
Take a look at the imaging they can get with this setup; it'll look real nice on tv if you can ignore the weather weenie saying something like "Red alert, we're all gonna DIE if you don't get underground!"
Navy ships originally used AEGIS phased array radar (called SPY-1) technology to protect naval battle groups from missile threats. Researchers believe the same technology has great potential for increasing lead-time for tornado warnings.
In 2000, the U.S. Navy agreed to loan a phased array antenna to NSSL and provided the $10,000,000 in funding to help build the National Weather Radar Testbed (NWRT).
Take a look at the imaging they can get with this setup; it'll look real nice on tv if you can ignore the weather weenie saying something like "Red alert, we're all gonna DIE if you don't get underground!"
I realize I'm late on this latest (possibly NSFW) medical discovery,
but better late than missed:
Staring at female mammary glands is good for a mans' heart health(maybe some women for that matter). Put in less scientific language,
A recent study by German doctors has discovered that staring at a woman’s sweater puppies for ten minutes a day can lower blood pressure and stress on the heart. While this is something many of us have suspected for a long time, it is nice to see a double-boob, er -blind study confirm it.
So, in my ever-present concern for the health of all five or six of you guys(and maybe a lady or two),
Staring at female mammary glands is good for a mans' heart health(maybe some women for that matter). Put in less scientific language,
A recent study by German doctors has discovered that staring at a woman’s sweater puppies for ten minutes a day can lower blood pressure and stress on the heart. While this is something many of us have suspected for a long time, it is nice to see a double-boob, er -blind study confirm it.
So, in my ever-present concern for the health of all five or six of you guys(and maybe a lady or two),
So this is what (fG)Britain seems to think of as a good idea
for dealing with electricity needs:
Electricity consumers in the UK will need to get used to flicking the switch and finding the power unavailable, according to Steve Holliday, CEO of National Grid, the country’s grid operator. Because of a six-fold increase in wind generation, which won’t be available when the wind doesn’t blow, “The grid is going to be a very different system in 2020, 2030,” he told BBC’s Radio 4. “We keep thinking that we want it to be there and provide power when we need it. It’s going to be much smarter than that.
“We are going to change our own behaviour and consume it when it is available and available cheaply.”
Translation: The government and/or the greenie dictators will allow you to have electricity when and in the amounts they think you should get it.
Under the so-called “smart grid” that the UK is developing, the government-regulated utility will be able to decide when and where power should be delivered, to ensure that it meets the highest social purpose.
And if it's decided that you can freeze or broil so what some politician deems more 'socially important' gets power, you're screwed.
Electricity consumers in the UK will need to get used to flicking the switch and finding the power unavailable, according to Steve Holliday, CEO of National Grid, the country’s grid operator. Because of a six-fold increase in wind generation, which won’t be available when the wind doesn’t blow, “The grid is going to be a very different system in 2020, 2030,” he told BBC’s Radio 4. “We keep thinking that we want it to be there and provide power when we need it. It’s going to be much smarter than that.
“We are going to change our own behaviour and consume it when it is available and available cheaply.”
Translation: The government and/or the greenie dictators will allow you to have electricity when and in the amounts they think you should get it.
Under the so-called “smart grid” that the UK is developing, the government-regulated utility will be able to decide when and where power should be delivered, to ensure that it meets the highest social purpose.
And if it's decided that you can freeze or broil so what some politician deems more 'socially important' gets power, you're screwed.
If Dept. of Homeland Security has the terrorist stuff so in hand
that they have time, money and people to waste on this, then they need their budget cut.
Remember Touching Special Areas searching people at the train station?
Woops.
Amtrak Police Chief John O’Connor said he first thought a blog posting about the incident was a joke. When he discovered that the TSA’s VIPR team did at least some of what the blog said, he was livid. He ordered the VIPR teams off Amtrak property, at least until a firm agreement can be drawn up to prevent the TSA from taking actions that the chief said were illegal and clearly contrary to Amtrak policy.
“When I saw it, I didn’t believe it was real,” O’Connor said. When it developed that the posting on an anti-TSA blog was not a joke, “I hit the ceiling.”
Well, isn't that nice. Does TSA actually care?
O’Connor said the TSA VIPR teams have no right to do more than what Amtrak police do occasionally, which has produced few if any protests and which O’Connor said is clearly within the law and the Constitution. More than a thousand times, Amtrak teams (sometimes including VIPR) have performed security screenings at Amtrak stations. These screenings are only occasional and random, and inspect the bags of only about one in 10 passengers. There is no wanding of passengers and no sterile area. O’Connor said the TSA violated every one of these rules.
And he's surprised?
A posting in late February to the Transportation Security Administration’s blog, which serves as a public relations tool of the TSA, tried to explain why TSA agents took over the Amtrak station in Savannah. But O’Connor said the “facts” as posted on the TSA blog were incorrect. He said the blog indicated that Amtrak had approved of the operation, but it had not. He called the TSA’s posting on blog.tsa.gov “inaccurate and insensitive.” As of the time this story was filed, the same posting remained on the blog.
What? TSA lied? Again, is he surprised?
All this is bad enough. It gets even better:
The group involved is TSA’s VIPR operation, which deals with surface transportation. VIPR is short for “visible intermodal protection and response.” It turns out that VIPR has been far more active than imagined. Teams have searched bus passengers all over the country, have done similar things at train stations, and have even blocked traffic on bridges to search trucks and cars. That even included the busy Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Washington.
Napolitano's power-grab is really spreading; seems she wasn't just talking about searching people all over, she was getting it rolling. Can you imagine the idiocy of blocking a frigging bridge so you can search vehicles?
A: Unless you have some reason to think it's actually no-shit necessary to find something really bad, it's stupid.
B: If you think bad guys have, say, a bomb on a truck, you've just given them a bridge full of stalled vehicles to take down
And when does the head of TSA inform us that driving across a bridge or taking a bus is a privilege for which we give up our rights?
Amtrak Police Chief John O’Connor said he first thought a blog posting about the incident was a joke. When he discovered that the TSA’s VIPR team did at least some of what the blog said, he was livid. He ordered the VIPR teams off Amtrak property, at least until a firm agreement can be drawn up to prevent the TSA from taking actions that the chief said were illegal and clearly contrary to Amtrak policy.
“When I saw it, I didn’t believe it was real,” O’Connor said. When it developed that the posting on an anti-TSA blog was not a joke, “I hit the ceiling.”
Well, isn't that nice. Does TSA actually care?
O’Connor said the TSA VIPR teams have no right to do more than what Amtrak police do occasionally, which has produced few if any protests and which O’Connor said is clearly within the law and the Constitution. More than a thousand times, Amtrak teams (sometimes including VIPR) have performed security screenings at Amtrak stations. These screenings are only occasional and random, and inspect the bags of only about one in 10 passengers. There is no wanding of passengers and no sterile area. O’Connor said the TSA violated every one of these rules.
And he's surprised?
A posting in late February to the Transportation Security Administration’s blog, which serves as a public relations tool of the TSA, tried to explain why TSA agents took over the Amtrak station in Savannah. But O’Connor said the “facts” as posted on the TSA blog were incorrect. He said the blog indicated that Amtrak had approved of the operation, but it had not. He called the TSA’s posting on blog.tsa.gov “inaccurate and insensitive.” As of the time this story was filed, the same posting remained on the blog.
What? TSA lied? Again, is he surprised?
All this is bad enough. It gets even better:
The group involved is TSA’s VIPR operation, which deals with surface transportation. VIPR is short for “visible intermodal protection and response.” It turns out that VIPR has been far more active than imagined. Teams have searched bus passengers all over the country, have done similar things at train stations, and have even blocked traffic on bridges to search trucks and cars. That even included the busy Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Washington.
Napolitano's power-grab is really spreading; seems she wasn't just talking about searching people all over, she was getting it rolling. Can you imagine the idiocy of blocking a frigging bridge so you can search vehicles?
A: Unless you have some reason to think it's actually no-shit necessary to find something really bad, it's stupid.
B: If you think bad guys have, say, a bomb on a truck, you've just given them a bridge full of stalled vehicles to take down
And when does the head of TSA inform us that driving across a bridge or taking a bus is a privilege for which we give up our rights?
I appears the Federal LEO Assoc. isn't happy
with Obama's statements the other day.
Contrary to what President Obama asserted, all law enforcement officers assigned to Mexico do perform “law enforcement activities.” This may include conducting field interviews, responding to crime scenes, overseeing training and participating in raids. The fact that they don’t actually handcuff suspects doesn’t diminish their role or the risks they face.
And on the 'can't be armed' stuff,
On Friday, FLEOA met with Chairman Michael McCaul’s staff from the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. FLEOA requested that the committee hold hearings in order to demand accountability for why the U.S. government sends unarmed law enforcement officers into hostile, crime-ridden foreign countries. FLEOA also respectfully requested that Congress halt all funding that is used by U.S. agencies to send unarmed law enforcement officers to unstable foreign countries.
Contrary to what President Obama asserted, all law enforcement officers assigned to Mexico do perform “law enforcement activities.” This may include conducting field interviews, responding to crime scenes, overseeing training and participating in raids. The fact that they don’t actually handcuff suspects doesn’t diminish their role or the risks they face.
And on the 'can't be armed' stuff,
On Friday, FLEOA met with Chairman Michael McCaul’s staff from the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. FLEOA requested that the committee hold hearings in order to demand accountability for why the U.S. government sends unarmed law enforcement officers into hostile, crime-ridden foreign countries. FLEOA also respectfully requested that Congress halt all funding that is used by U.S. agencies to send unarmed law enforcement officers to unstable foreign countries.
"The Real Reason the ATF Smuggled Guns (updated)
into Mexico" over at TTaG. He's got three possibles:
1. To catch the “big fish”: he doubts, and gives reasons why.
2. Empire building: again, doubts and the reasons why.
3. ATF Agents enabled smuggled guns to line their own pockets: likely, he thinks:
As in Watergate, the key to this scandal is to “follow the money.” Never mind the guns themselves—even though drug thugs used the to murder two federal agents. Who paid for the ATF-enabled smuggled guns? How much did they cost? How were the smugglers/informants paid, and how much were they paid? How much did the smugglers get for the guns and what happened to that money?
Occam’s Razor says that if you’re forced to choose between competing theories explaining a given event, the simplest explanation is the most likely to be true. I vote for door number three. The ATF didn’t “botch” Project Gunrunner or Operation Fast and Furious.
I reckon they started out setting up straw purchases, and then “forgot” to stop the guns before they crossed the border. They subverted the normal rules of a police sting—NEVER LOSE TRACK OF THE DRUGS/MONEY/GUNS—for cash money.
If I had to guess, #2 and #3 are the big ones, with #1 being the excuse. Reading this brought something into focus I'd wondered about, and that was just exactly what BATFE could expect to gain toward 'getting the bosses' with this: bosses don't deal in stuff like this, subordinates do. And all that nice noise about 'wanting to take down a cartel' doesn't wash, either. Unless as part of the empire-building action: ATF isn't supposed to be doing that, it's not their job. But if they get expanded(lots more agents and money and authority involved there) it could be. Being legally expanded would require real changes in their charter, etc., but if they decided to expand out without worrying about those niceties(counting on some of the Congressional cover that's helped them out before)...
With Mexico finally deciding to start asking questions about Gunwalker, things stand to get really messy, which is actually a good thing: it's going to take it getting monumentally nasty to actually get the truth out AND have any real possibility of those responsible being punished for their actions. At least any punishment more nasty than "You were a bad boy, go to your room; and your next pay raise will be delayed."
On the latter, couple of days ago Sipsey Street had a piece saying good things about John Dodson, the ATF agent who came out into the open to put a line from the compressor on that whistle; Vanderboegh is catching some crap for it. Well, bullshit. Dodson has said some things about the 'why' that I don't care for, and may well have done things in the past I'd not like; neither of which changes the fact that he's put his balls in the vise here and is hoping Grassley and a real investigation can keep the BATFE brass from closing it. And respect is owed to the other honest cops at ATF who've been trying to get something done but whose names we don't know; considering the reputation this agency has for screwing people over they're taking real risks, too, from the miserable excuses for lawmen running that agency
Update: ref the reason #3, I fear I wasn't thinking it through all the way; yes, there could well be some corrupt agents involved getting money, but as Vanderboegh points out this was set up and approved by DOJ and the bigshots in BATFE; while there's the possibility of someone spreading some money around to influence things I don't think it explains Gunwalker. I'll have to go with #2 combined with something else:
Gunrunner, I pointed out to him, predated the Obama administration. "Yes, but 'walking guns' didn't." I told him it seemed to me that given the dates on the documents that the meetings crafting this policy must have taken place sometime in mid-2009. "And who took power in January, 2009?" he replied.
...
...The ATF controlled the reporting of the statistics, the headlines were lurid and if the rest of us gunnies knew that you don't get automatic weapons, hand grenades and RPGs from gun shows and gun stores, most of the American people were too ignorant of the issue to care about the distinction. But the fact was, as the IG report and other sources concluded, the amount of weapons from those legitimate American sources did not meet the allegation. More importantly the statistics didn't meet the policy need. So, how to "fix" that? Project Gunwalker. If there weren't enough semi-auto "assault rifles" in Mexico, the ATF could fix that. And the murders would follow, justifying the policy change of cracking down on "assault rifles," gun shows and the like.
"So," I said, "you're saying that this was a deliberate attempt by policymakers at the highest levels of the Obama administration to subvert the Second Amendment and further diminish the free exercise of firearm rights of honest citizens?"
"You got it. Sucks, huh?" He laughed bitterly.
And, unfortunately, entirely possible.
1. To catch the “big fish”: he doubts, and gives reasons why.
2. Empire building: again, doubts and the reasons why.
3. ATF Agents enabled smuggled guns to line their own pockets: likely, he thinks:
As in Watergate, the key to this scandal is to “follow the money.” Never mind the guns themselves—even though drug thugs used the to murder two federal agents. Who paid for the ATF-enabled smuggled guns? How much did they cost? How were the smugglers/informants paid, and how much were they paid? How much did the smugglers get for the guns and what happened to that money?
Occam’s Razor says that if you’re forced to choose between competing theories explaining a given event, the simplest explanation is the most likely to be true. I vote for door number three. The ATF didn’t “botch” Project Gunrunner or Operation Fast and Furious.
I reckon they started out setting up straw purchases, and then “forgot” to stop the guns before they crossed the border. They subverted the normal rules of a police sting—NEVER LOSE TRACK OF THE DRUGS/MONEY/GUNS—for cash money.
If I had to guess, #2 and #3 are the big ones, with #1 being the excuse. Reading this brought something into focus I'd wondered about, and that was just exactly what BATFE could expect to gain toward 'getting the bosses' with this: bosses don't deal in stuff like this, subordinates do. And all that nice noise about 'wanting to take down a cartel' doesn't wash, either. Unless as part of the empire-building action: ATF isn't supposed to be doing that, it's not their job. But if they get expanded(lots more agents and money and authority involved there) it could be. Being legally expanded would require real changes in their charter, etc., but if they decided to expand out without worrying about those niceties(counting on some of the Congressional cover that's helped them out before)...
With Mexico finally deciding to start asking questions about Gunwalker, things stand to get really messy, which is actually a good thing: it's going to take it getting monumentally nasty to actually get the truth out AND have any real possibility of those responsible being punished for their actions. At least any punishment more nasty than "You were a bad boy, go to your room; and your next pay raise will be delayed."
On the latter, couple of days ago Sipsey Street had a piece saying good things about John Dodson, the ATF agent who came out into the open to put a line from the compressor on that whistle; Vanderboegh is catching some crap for it. Well, bullshit. Dodson has said some things about the 'why' that I don't care for, and may well have done things in the past I'd not like; neither of which changes the fact that he's put his balls in the vise here and is hoping Grassley and a real investigation can keep the BATFE brass from closing it. And respect is owed to the other honest cops at ATF who've been trying to get something done but whose names we don't know; considering the reputation this agency has for screwing people over they're taking real risks, too, from the miserable excuses for lawmen running that agency
Update: ref the reason #3, I fear I wasn't thinking it through all the way; yes, there could well be some corrupt agents involved getting money, but as Vanderboegh points out this was set up and approved by DOJ and the bigshots in BATFE; while there's the possibility of someone spreading some money around to influence things I don't think it explains Gunwalker. I'll have to go with #2 combined with something else:
Gunrunner, I pointed out to him, predated the Obama administration. "Yes, but 'walking guns' didn't." I told him it seemed to me that given the dates on the documents that the meetings crafting this policy must have taken place sometime in mid-2009. "And who took power in January, 2009?" he replied.
...
...The ATF controlled the reporting of the statistics, the headlines were lurid and if the rest of us gunnies knew that you don't get automatic weapons, hand grenades and RPGs from gun shows and gun stores, most of the American people were too ignorant of the issue to care about the distinction. But the fact was, as the IG report and other sources concluded, the amount of weapons from those legitimate American sources did not meet the allegation. More importantly the statistics didn't meet the policy need. So, how to "fix" that? Project Gunwalker. If there weren't enough semi-auto "assault rifles" in Mexico, the ATF could fix that. And the murders would follow, justifying the policy change of cracking down on "assault rifles," gun shows and the like.
"So," I said, "you're saying that this was a deliberate attempt by policymakers at the highest levels of the Obama administration to subvert the Second Amendment and further diminish the free exercise of firearm rights of honest citizens?"
"You got it. Sucks, huh?" He laughed bitterly.
And, unfortunately, entirely possible.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Ah, those wonderful people at TSA: they want to irrardiate
people everywhere:
Newly uncovered documents show that as early as 2006, the Department of Homeland Security has been planning pilot programs to deploy mobile scanning units that can be set up at public events and in train stations, along with mobile x-ray vans capable of scanning pedestrians on city streets.
Isn't that a wonderful thought?
Ah, but they deny it. Kind of.
A TSA official responds in a statement that the “TSA has not tested the advanced imaging technology that is currently used at airports in mass transit environments and does not have plans to do so.”
I have to say, I'm an amateur at this but I could drive a truck through the loopholes in that statement: 'has not' doesn't mean isn't or won't, 'does not' leaves in 'can change our minds at any time'(or did). Etc.
Just imagine, they want to feel you up or dose you with possibly damaging radiation(have they YET released the safety studies on this crap?) before they'll allow you to get on a bus. Or train. Or subway. Or into the mall, or game, or anywhere else they can get away with it, all for 'public safety'.
Found at the Advice Goddess
Newly uncovered documents show that as early as 2006, the Department of Homeland Security has been planning pilot programs to deploy mobile scanning units that can be set up at public events and in train stations, along with mobile x-ray vans capable of scanning pedestrians on city streets.
Isn't that a wonderful thought?
Ah, but they deny it. Kind of.
A TSA official responds in a statement that the “TSA has not tested the advanced imaging technology that is currently used at airports in mass transit environments and does not have plans to do so.”
I have to say, I'm an amateur at this but I could drive a truck through the loopholes in that statement: 'has not' doesn't mean isn't or won't, 'does not' leaves in 'can change our minds at any time'(or did). Etc.
Just imagine, they want to feel you up or dose you with possibly damaging radiation(have they YET released the safety studies on this crap?) before they'll allow you to get on a bus. Or train. Or subway. Or into the mall, or game, or anywhere else they can get away with it, all for 'public safety'.
Found at the Advice Goddess
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)