It's SOUL-WOW! It's Not New! It's Not Improved! Get That "... Just Baptized Feeling!"

Introducing... SOUL-WOW!!
It's (not) New! It's (not) Improved!
(And, it's definitely not for the claustrophobic.)
Come On In To Our Church And Put Your Bad Booty In Our Incredible Confessional!
It Seats One!
It Gets Your Grimy Soul Sparkling Clean!
It's Economical!
We Have Locations Throughout Your City!
And, As An Extra Added Bonus...
Keep Coming Back Throughout Your Lifetime And Confess All Of Your Sins and We'll Reward You With What...?
That's Right... Absolution! :o

I happened to be listening to ABC's World News Now (The Late Late News Show) last night while working on my upcoming eBay listings.

If you want to catch up on "the news", but can't stand the sight or sound of anymore plastic network people, the painfully-stiff narratives, the smarmy stuffed shirts and - worst of all - the horrible, yet hilarious, Helmet Hair...

Then, WNN might just be the news show for you!
Jeremy and Vinita are WNN's Dynamic Desk Duo.
Their delivery is casual and friendly... it's utterly conversational. Which means it is nothing like the bloodless, we're-all-frenemies-here banter squawked during what would otherwise be Dead-Air on most TV news broadcasts. (I think I'd prefer the dead-air.) Jeremy and Vinita move around in their chairs and around the set... They make completely natural movements with their arms and legs... They tell jokes... They even make personal comments on some of the stories/segments! Gasp! It's really quite refreshing.

And, although the curls of Vinita's lovely hair can actually be seen moving on her shoulders... I must admit that Jeremy's hair, on the other hand, might pass a wind-tunnel test with flying colors.

But, I digress.

Anyway~
They happened to mention last night that the Catholic Church is now uploading videos to YouTube in an effort to market itself to young people. (When you're running out of the old... how do you bring in the new?)

Not that there's an ice cube's chance in Hades that I'd set a foot in a church... (Well, not one of mine, anyway...) I just had to stop working for a minute to check it out.

I was half expecting to see a somewhat out-of-touch attempt by a white-haired man-of-the-cloth to guilt viewers into returning that included quoting scripture. (Guilt, after all, is one of their fortes.)

Not even close.

I was surprised and even amused at what I saw and I think you will be, too.

It's called:

SOUL-WOW. (Like the Infamous "Sham-Wow" infomercial.)

As I watched the video, I could imagine the now-defunct, but often brilliant, Mad TV doing something like this as a spoof.

Pun definitely intended...

In the few memorable words of Sarah Palin: "I kid you not."

Check it out and Enjoy... But, remember... It's an Infomercial.

Iowa Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage! Gotta Love Iowa!

The Iowa State Flag.

The Iowa State Motto:
"Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain."

Give Some Love To Iowa!

On Friday, Iowa's Enlightened Supreme Court unanimously struck down the state's decade-long ban of same-sex marriage.

Iowa is now the 3rd state in the country and the 1st from America's heartland to legalize same-sex marriage.

I'm remaining optimistic that California's Supreme Court will take note of this very important event as it considers what to do about the hateful Prop. 8 (which is based upon religious intolerance and needs to be kept out of our Constitution, for if it's allowed to, it would try to change the California State Constitution so that it would allow discrimination against people who fall in love with, want to marry and pursue their happiness with someone of the same gender.).

(From: The Washington Post.)

Iowa State Supreme Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage


By Keith B. Richburg
Saturday, April 4, 2009; Page A03

Iowa became the third state in the country and the first from the rural heartland to legalize same-sex marriage when its Supreme Court yesterday unanimously struck down the state's decade-long ban.

Gay advocacy groups hailed the decision as another example of same-sex marriage gaining traction in an increasing number of states, despite a ballot initiative in California last year that banned it there. They also said the emphatic ruling probably will sway other courts, including California's Supreme Court, which must decide by early June whether the November referendum was constitutional.

"Justices look at opinions from other states," said Jennifer C. Pizer, the national marriage project director for Lambda Legal, which brought the Iowa case. "There's a significant likelihood that [the decision] will influence other states, like California."

Efforts to legalize same-sex marriage are also gaining political support. On Thursday, the state House in Vermont overwhelmingly approved a bill legalizing such unions, following a similarly lopsided vote earlier in the state Senate. Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R) has said he will veto the measure, but gay advocacy groups noted that the House vote was just four short of the number needed to override a veto.

On March 26, the state House in New Hampshire voted narrowly to allow same-sex marriage in that state, sending the bill to the Senate.

Before yesterday's ruling, only Massachusetts and Connecticut allowed same-sex marriage. New York has said it will recognize such unions performed in other states. California allowed same-sex marriage for about five months last year before the ballot initiative banned it.
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The strongly worded decision by all seven justices of Iowa's Supreme Court moves the issue away from more liberal coastal states, where most of the legal and legislative action aimed at overturning bans on same-sex marriage has taken place. While Iowa is home to many conservative Christians and evangelicals, the decision adds to a strong liberal streak that has spawned politically progressive movements.

"Iowa really does have a very impressive visionary history when it comes to civil rights, from desegregation to public accommodation to the rights of women," said Ben Stone, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa.

The Iowa Supreme Court decision upholds a lower court's ruling that a 1998 state law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution.

"We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective," the justices wrote.

The decision will take effect in 21 days unless a rehearing is requested. Attorneys for Polk County, which challenged the earlier ruling, indicated that the county will not request a review, meaning that same-sex couples will be able to apply for marriage licenses in Iowa in three weeks.

The only other recourse for overturning the decision is a state constitutional amendment, which would take at least two years to be adopted.

At least one group opposed to same-sex marriage, the Liberty Counsel, said it plans to advance a referendum to amend the Iowa Constitution to prohibit same-sex unions. "The Iowa Supreme Court has become a proselytizing engine of radical social change," said Mathew D. Staver, the group's founder. "Untying the knot that holds together traditional marriage will unravel the family, destabilize the culture and harm children."

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) blasted the decision and vowed to effectively overturn it. "This is an unconstitutional ruling and another example of activist judges molding the Constitution to achieve their personal political ends," he said in a statement.

Richburg reported from New York. Staff writers William Branigin in Washington and Kari Lydersen in Chicago contributed to this report.

Ha! Ha! Ha!
Actually, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), it's a wonderful thing called Enlightenment... or Real Equality Under The Law... or Real Freedom For All.

And, of course, we all know that "... molding the Constitution to achieve their personal political ends" is something right-wing politicians/judges who wrap themselves in the flag and spew insincere soundbites about being "... a good Christian" and "... promoting Family Values" whilst trying to keep their considerable commandment-breaking private have never done!

Peace...
And...
I Love You Iowa!
L.

Genome/DNA Hacking: Don't Let It Happen To You

You Just Might Want To Nonchalantly Wipe The Lip Print Off Your Glass Before You Leave The Club/Bar/Restaurant...

Because, It's Not Just A Stubborn Lipstick Stain Anymore...

It's Your Unique Skin Cells... Your Unique Saliva...

It's Your Unique DNA...

In Other Words: It's You.

And, It's Easier To Hijack and Get Analyzed (Without Your Knowledge/Consent) Than You Might Think...

(From: www.newscientist.com/)

Special Investigation: How My Genome Was Hacked

25 March 2009 by Peter Aldhous and Michael Reilly

INTIMATE secrets hidden in your DNA could be stolen without you even realising. By taking a glass from which you have drunk, a "genome hacker" could obtain a comprehensive scan of your genome, revealing DNA variants that help determine your susceptibility to a wide range of diseases, from a common form of blindness to Alzheimer's disease.

That's the disturbing finding of a New Scientist investigation, in which one of us - Michael Reilly - "hacked" the genome of the other - Peter Aldhous - armed with only a credit card, a private email account and a home address.

You might have thought that genome hacking requires specialist skills, and personal access to sophisticated equipment. But in recent years, some companies have started to offer personal genome scans to the public over the internet. Other firms routinely analyse genomes on behalf of scientists involved in human genetics research. In theory, both types of service are vulnerable to abuse by a genome hacker determined to submit someone else's DNA for covert analysis.

Until our investigation, it was not clear whether this would be possible in practice. Could a hacker with no access to a genetics lab take an item carrying another person's DNA and obtain a sample that companies would accept for scanning? Would the sample be of high enough quality to yield accurate results? And would genome analysis companies have procedures in place to identify and refuse suspicious orders?

We decided to find out. Rather like computer security researchers who expose vulnerabilities in software code so that they can be "patched" to guard against malicious hackers, our goal was to uncover vulnerabilities in the way companies offering genome scans operate, so that they can be fixed.

Our investigation uncovered some loopholes that might be closed to help thwart genome thieves. The findings also strengthen the case for additional laws to protect the information contained in the DNA that we all shed continually and leave lying around.

"Just as we have a right to expect that relatives, neighbours, or even strangers can't poke through our medical records without our permission, we should have a right to expect that people can't snoop through our genes," says Kathy Hudson, who heads the Genetics and Public Policy Center in Washington DC.

Our experimental genome hack began like this: Peter drank water from a glass, which he handed to Michael. Michael's first task was to get Peter's DNA off the glass and turn it into a sample that he could submit to a genome-scanning company.

Michael approached several firms that ordinarily extract DNA from items like drinking glasses and match this DNA against particular individuals, on behalf of the police, private detectives or citizens pursuing their own investigations. He said nothing about his intentions, but soon found a company that would extract the DNA without performing any DNA matches. Some weeks later a vial containing a solution of Peter's DNA turned up at Michael's home.

To Continue reading this fascinating story, click Here.

For those interested in the final analysis without reading the entire article - although I recommend reading it - here it is:

"Thwarting genome hackers may also require new laws to protect privacy. One approach would be for other countries to follow the UK, which has made it a crime to have someone else's DNA with the intent of analysing it without consent. "Although we are not aware of any instances of this in personal genome analysis, there is a clear rationale for making it illegal to analyse an individual's DNA without their knowledge and consent," says Decode spokesman Edward Farmer. Such laws are difficult to enforce, however, as an earlier New Scientist investigation revealed (31 January, p 6).

Another approach, which could be tried in parallel, would be to make it illegal for companies to extract and analyse DNA left on everyday items, except under specific circumstances. "There's no good reason, unless you are a police officer investigating a crime, to be doing DNA analysis on a sample from a drinking glass," argues Mark Rothstein, director of the Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

One thing is clear: if lawmakers fail to rise to the challenge posed by genome hacking, we all have reason to fear for the security of our DNA."

Peace...
and Privacy.
L.

Shake & Wake Earthquake: I Feel The Earth Move and Jessi Sleeps Through It

(Photo from: USGS)
Fault scarp of the Calaveras Fault in San Felipe Valley in the Diablo Range. The lone Oak Tree provides scale for this nearly 4 meter (12ft.) high fault scarp.

It's Monday... A little after 10am...

So?... And Your Point Is?...

I'm still warm, cozy and barely semi-conscious under the covers of my bed.

The hustle and bustle of people and vehicles outside my windows is slowly but surely growing louder... I smile to myself... I've lived here long enough that I've fine-tuned my ability to block the daily cacophony out.

I cautiously peek out towards the windows... Ouch! My mistake... Brilliant, blazes of sunlight are streaming through the gaps in the tops of my curtains (although, mercifully, missing me entirely) and striking the far top walls of my room.

I move my leg and feel Jessi The Dog curled up and sleeping on my right side, towards the foot of the bed.

I smile and close my eyes again....

Moments later I'm awakened by the sharp Flap!... Flap!... Flap! sounds of Jessi violently shaking her head. I recognize this sound as one she makes when her ear is tickling her. I turn to face her and rub her ear for a few moments as she leans into my kneading knuckles. When she's had enough, she turns her back to me and flops down to go back to sleep (You're Welcome.).

I turn around so my back's to her and - feeling confident that I can fall back asleep - I close my eyes and begin to drift off...

I've barely gotten cozy again when I'm jerked back to full-consciousness...

I haven't opened my eyes, but I'm awake... and I can feel my bed moving... jerking... And, it's isn't the little Bump...Bump! disturbance that I've come to recognize as a passing MUNI bus hitting just the right spot out on Haight Street.

My first thought was that Jessi The Dog was causing the shaking. Sometimes, if she sits up and scratches her ear with a hind paw while I'm laying down - it makes the bed shake.

I open my eyes as I lift my head just high enough to see Jessi... whom, to my growing surprise, is still laying with her back to me... still fast asleep.

(Huh?!)

I'm semi-awake and slightly puzzled... Maybe I was imagining it? I laid my head back on the pillow to check for movement...

Not only was my bed still noticeably jerking back and forth... It was doing it harder...

And, then, I heard two unmistakeable sounds that I immediately recognize as all-too-familiar earthquake sounds:

1.) The walls of my room began to audibly creak with the jerking motion I was feeling through the bed
and
2.) A solid wood table that my TV sits atop started to creak along.

For some unknown reason, in spite of the fact that I was now fully-awake and fully-aware that we were having an earthquake, I felt completely free of fear, panic and anxiety.

I sat up and looked at Jessi laying in serene slumber - just as the shifting plates of Mother Earth gave one hearty "Happy Monday" shove-off... followed by movement of quickly decreasing intensity... until I felt nothing but stillness once more - My Amazing Dog: She slept right through it all. (Good Dog!)

I climbed over Jessi and reached for the TV's "On" Button.

The epicenter was about 11 miles from a town called Morgan Hill.

Estimated between a 4.4 and 4.6 on the Richter Scale.

No, it definitely wasn't The Big One That We Know Is Coming... It's Really Coming!... It Could Happen!... Any Day (or Night) Now!... Causing - Within Seconds - Massive Destruction, Interrupted Communication, Power Outages and Fires!...

...Or Not.

No. I am not making light of it.
(But, I am making fun of it.)

It's a serious and ever-present threat for those of us who find ourselves in The Golden State.

But, I enjoy a certain degree of security in knowing that my Beloved Home is @ 100yrs. old. She not only survived The Great Earthquake and subsequent firestorms... She survived the 1960's and every quake/movement since. (Thank Goodness!) and She sits on solid ground/bedrock - unlike the Ritzy(See: $$$.) Marina District or Embarcadero.

My parents have long told me that, "Little earthquakes are good. Really! They allow the built-up pressure to be released that otherwise would be held back and built up until there was a Great Big Earthquake."

Hmmm...

Sounds logical... Yes, I find it somewhat comforting... But, is it True? I don't know.

What I do know is this:

If You Are Interested in Finding Out How To Prepare For/Respond To/Recover From an Earthquake or Any Number of Potential Disasters...

There's Helpful and Trustworthy Information on 'How To Prepare' and 'What To Do If' in many different and difficult situations at 72hours.org.
(It's designed for San Franciscans, but there's a link at the bottom of the page for other Bay Area Counties.)

Peace.
L.

P.S.~
I actually wrote this Blog just after the event. I was just Previewing it when we experienced a Blackout on Haight Street.
So, my Blog and all the shop interiors were thrust into darkness. Sadly, I hadn't saved it, so when the power returned - my Blog did not.

I do not believe the earthquake and the blackout were connected in any way. They happened a few hours apart and only Haight Street seemed to be affected.

One of my astute neighbors - when I asked if he knew the cause of the 1-2hr. power failure - said this:

"Incompetence."

'nuff said.
L.

Schumer Declares His Support for Same-Sex Marriages

In the heartbreaking aftermath of the passing of Proposition 8 (which would ban same-sex marriage by changing the CA State Constitution) - the State Supreme Court is expected to decide whether Prop. 8 simply amended the state Constitution or revised it and, regardless, numerous legal battles are lining up - hearing that N.Y. Senator Charles Schumer publicly announced on Monday that he now supports gay marriage is a welcome relief and encouraging development.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's assertive and unapologetic action calling on City Hall to provide marriage licenses for same-sex couples was a move that could have been potentially disasterous - as far as any ideas that Mayor Gavin may have been entertaining about replacing The Governator.

Although I personally don't care for him as our Mayor, I was pleasantly surprised by Gavin's enlightened and passionate support for same-sex marriage. It was most unfortunate that the anti-equal protection/pro prop. 8 lobby raised enough money to saturate commercial TV - both day and night - with a merciless barrage of ads that used a video clip of Mayor Gavin in one of his less than democratic-sounding moments to rally support for it's dogma of discrimination.

The so-called 'Civil Unions' that some wishy-washy people declare as being 'as good as being married' are actually a weak facsimile. They do not guarantee the Same Rights, Protections and Priviledges as Marriage.

The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from denying any person the equal protection of the laws.

For me, same-sex couples' ongoing struggle to secure their equal rights recalls another long and hard struggle that was finally won in 1967:

"I think marrying who you want is a right no man should have anything to do with. It's a God-given right," - Mildred Loving.

In June 12, 1967, the Landmark Supreme Court Decision in
Loving v. Virginia legalized interracial marriage across the country, striking down anti-miscegenation laws in Virginia and 15 other states.

(Even after the decision, the unenforceable laws remained on the books in a number of states — South Carolina only removed
theirs in 1998, and Alabama's ban lurked around until 2000!)

That you, as an American, have the right to marry the person you love, regardless of race is Constitutionally-protected and recognized nationwide.

I'm eagerly anticipating the moment - May It Be Soon - when same sex couples are finally granted what should already be theirs...
Equal Rights and Constitutional Protections that are nationally-recognized.

Peace.
L.

(From: nytimes.com)



Schumer Declares His Support for Same-Sex Marriages

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 23, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senator Charles E. Schumer said on Monday that he now supports gay marriage.

“It’s time. Equality is something that has always been a hallmark of America and no group should be deprived of it,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement. “New York, which has always been at the forefront on issues of equality, is appropriately poised to take a lead on this issue.”

The gay rights group Empire State Pride Agenda said that Mr. Schumer expressed his views at a dinner on Sunday with the organization’s executive director and others.

Mr. Schumer previously supported civil unions, which give same-sex couples some of the same rights as married couples. In 1996, he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, a law that forbids federal government recognition of same-sex marriages.

Three openly gay New York Assembly members, Micah Kellner, Deborah J. Glick, and Daniel J. O’Donnell, said they attended the meeting with Mr. Schumer and were pleased to hear his new position.

Mr. Kellner, a former aide to Mr. Schumer, said Mr. Schumer did not just express mild support.

“This was, ‘I’m going to be out front and take the lead on these issues,’ ” Mr. Kellner said.

New York’s other senator, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, also supports gay marriage, as does Gov. David A. Paterson. Both are Democrats.

Mr. Schumer is up for re-election next year.

FBI Finds Lotta Nada For 2 Out Of 3 FOIA Requests And... Wins The Rosemary Award! Congrats!

... And we wondered how the Feds could have missed the fact that two of the 9/11 terrorists were listed in the phone book?

The National Security Archive has just awarded the F.B.I. its Rosemary Award for the worst Freedom of Information Act performance by a federal agency.

What gives?

Well, the F.B.I. defends it's request results by saying that the seemingly excessive number of "no such records exist" responses are mostly due to a relatively recent new national pastime: that of filing a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) Request for one's own file/dossier... when you are - more or less - Jane or Joe Law-abiding Citizen and therefore, they have no files on you.

Yeah... Sure... Sounds Reasonable to me.

Riiight.

Well I, for one, haven't filed a FOIA request for any F.B.I. files referencing myself. Nor do I know anyone who has... and admitted it, anyway.

But-
That's not to say that I haven't thought about doing it.
I did think about it, a few times in the past - when things were... uh, weird (long story - not here.).
But, I finally thought better of it.

A wise associate of mine had pointed out that:
a.) They - in all likelihood - have no file on you. And...
b.) If they don't... Why would you want to go and do something that might call unwanted attention to yourself?

Ahh, yes. Good ol' Logic. Gotta love it.

So, my two cents' worth:

1.) Don't File A FOIA Request on Yourself Because You're Bored... or because you've gotten paranoid due to all of the surveillance cameras... or because your initially innocent curiosity about those Conspiracy Theory-based websites has blossomed into full-blown Sleep Dep... Please.

2.) That said - If you happen to be someone who has a legitimate reason to file a FOIA Request with the F.B.I. or any other Federal agency... Be Specific... Be Very, Very Specific. They won't look for anything, for anyone or look anywhere that you don't specifically state in your Request.

And, let's be honest, even if you specifically request it... they still might not bother to do it. Be persistant.

Squeaky wheels and all.

Peace.
L.


(Circa: 1973. Rose Mary Woods, President Richard Nixon's secretary at her White House desk, demonstrates the "Rose Mary Stretch" which could have 'accidentally' resulted in the erasure of part of the Watergate tapes.)

(From: The Boston Globe)

F.B.I. Finds Nothing For 2 Out Of 3 Who Seek Records

By Michael J. Sniffen
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON D.C. — If information were a river, the FBI would be a dam.

Two out of every three people who ask for FBI records under the Freedom of Information Act are told by the bureau no such documents exist -- a failure rate five times higher than at other major federal agencies, a private study finds.

The FBI is using an outdated and deliberately limited search process to avoid full compliance with the records law, the National Security Archive asserts. The Archive is a private group that publishes declassified government documents and files many FOIA requests.

The Archive awarded the FBI its Rosemary Award for the worst Freedom of Information Act performance by a federal agency. Named for former President Richard M. Nixon's secretary, Rose Mary Woods, the award is given annually around Sunshine Week, when journalism organizations promote open government and freedom of information. Woods is best known for re-enacting her claim to have accidentally erased 18 1/2 minutes of a White House tape recording when she stretched to answer a phone.

"The FBI knowingly uses a search process that doesn't find relevant records," Archive director Tom Blanton said Thursday. "Not only does this woeful performance lead to unnecessary litigation, but the bureau apparently uses the same searches in its criminal investigations as well."

The Archive said FBI records show that over the past four years the bureau told 66 percent of requesters -- 37,342 out of 56,530 requests -- that it found no responsive records. The 33 large federal agencies that receive the bulk of all FOIA requests responded that way only 13 percent of the time on average, the archive calculated.

In 2008, only 89 requesters, 0.5 percent of the year's total, got everything they asked for from the FBI; 2,276, 13 percent, got part of what they sought.

David Hardy, chief of the FBI's FOIA section, has said the bureau checks FOIA requests against the names on an electronic index of its files.

The electronic index contains names of individuals, organizations, companies, publications, activities and counterintelligence programs. It includes the main name for each file and other names in the file -- or cross-references -- that case agents think might be useful in the future, but not all names in every file. The electronic index for searching only goes back to 1980s; earlier records have to be searched by hand on paper.

The FBI checks the main names on the index, Hardy has said. It does not check cross-reference names unless specifically asked to, and does not check the entire file. It won't look at paper or field office records unless specifically asked to.

Blanton said modern information systems use electronic search tools that scan the entire text of a document. "The FBI process, in contrast, is designed to send FOIA requesters away frustrated, and no doubt has the same effect on the FBI's own agents."

Hardy told The Associated Press on Thursday the indexing system is designed to support bureau investigations.

"The names our agents pick to put in the index mean something to our investigators," Hardy said. "We're not building a library. If you have something of meaning to the FBI, it's going to be there."

But Blanton responded: "No FBI agent is omniscient. They can't always know what names would be important to another field office or make or break an investigation in the future."

Two men who turned out to be Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist hijackers lived in San Diego and associated with an FBI informant before the attack, but if the agent only indexed the informant's name, they wouldn't find the two hijackers, Blanton said.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said "the reason for the huge number of no-records responses is that it's become a cult phenomenon to ask the FBI for records on yourself, and most people don't have FBI records."

But FBI searches frustrate other requesters. Salt Lake City lawyer Jesse Trentadue wanted to know whether bureau documents showed a link between his brother's death in custody and the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

Trentadue asked for a Jan. 4, 1996, message from FBI Director Louis Freeh's office to the Oklahoma City and Omaha, Neb., offices that discussed the federal building bombers (the FBI's OKBOMB case). His request supplied the correct date for the memo, the names of the sender and two recipients and a newspaper story with direct quotes from it, but the FBI told him no records matched his request.

Trentadue later found the very memo he wanted had been released to another FOIA requester, so he sued the FBI for a better search. Hardy told the court the FBI had used the search term "OKBOMB" to try to find the January 1996 message; bureau officials couldn't say why that search failed to produce the Freeh message, in which the first listed subject was "OKBOMB."

Hardy told AP the law requires reasonable, not exhaustive, searches. "If we were to try to chase down every name with a full text search, the entire Russian army couldn't finish the work in a timely manner," Hardy said. "We think our system is reasonable."

Hardy said the FBI now has the shortest pending times for FOIA requests in its history, no backlogged requests older than three years and fewer than 1 percent older than two. But Blanton said the FBI's average response times of 109 days for an expedited request and 374 days for a complex request are still among the highest in government.

Blanton said the FBI has avoided processing requests by demanding privacy act waivers from any living individual referenced. He said the bureau stopped a student journalism project on the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan by requesting a privacy waiver from al-Qaida leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a U.S. prisoner in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"We are supposed to use common sense and waive that rule," Hardy said. "But we correct our errors. We're processing the Pearl documents now."

Do You FreeCycle? No? Interested? Here's How...

Have You Heard of FREECYCLE?

No, it has nothing to do with bicycles.
Nor is it a new form of home exercise equipment.

... It's Much, Much Better!

"The Freecycle Network™" is made up of 4,700 groups with 6,504,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is FREE."

To Look For A Group In Your Community - Go To: http://www.freecycle.org/.

Members freely give (and get) every kind of item. From moving boxes to mattresses to furniture to kid's toys to clothing to books to electronics/hardware/cell phones... kitchen sinks, etc.

For Example:
I'm need of a digital voice recorder and - although I initially hesitated - I finally decided to be completely honest about the reason why.

Here's my most recent 'WANTED' posting:

I hear dead people (Seriously).
I've made numerous EVP recordings, confirmed by multiple witnesses.
But, sadly, my recorder has died.
I'm searching for a Digital Voice Recorder with a USB-direct port (to upload files to my computer.).
I thank you and 'They' thank you (I've told 'them' to leave me alone until I get another recorder.).

Any San Francisco FreeCycle Member with an available one responds via email.

It's That Easy.
And, Yes... It's Really Free.

Check FreeCycle out.

Peace.
L.

Are You Wiping Out Virgin or Ancient-Growth Forest When Wiping Your A**?

Mr. Whipple was on the right track with his cry of:
"Please Don't Squeeze The Charmin!".

To This I Would Add...
"Please Don't Buy The Charmin."

... Or any other chlorine-bleached, virgin forest-based, ancient/old growth forest-based toilet tissue - for that matter.

Why Not?

Because...
If you insist on wiping your a** with one of the massively marketed brands of chlorine-bleached, triple-ply, quilted, ultra-, mega-, softer-than-a-baby's-butt bathroom tissues...

Then...
You are contributing to the decimation of virgin and old-growth forests to a degree that is even more damaging to our shared environment than if you were driving your gas-guzzling, negligible mileage-getting, Stupid Urban Vehicle to CrapDonald's for some super-sized fast faux food.

Not only that...
You are a Boil on the Buttocks of Humanity.

(Hopefully Not.)

"Recycled tissue products help protect ancient forests, clean water, and wildlife habitat. It's easier on the Earth to make tissues from paper instead of trees." - Greenpeace
(Greenpeace's website offers a Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide.)

"In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."
- From the Great Law of the Iroquois

Peace.
L.


(Greenpeace image)

From: www.guardian.co.uk/.)

American Taste For Soft Toilet Roll Is 'Worse Than Driving Hummers'
- Extra-soft, quilted and multi-ply toilet roll made from virgin wood causes more damage than gas-guzzlers, fast food or McMansions, say campaigners -

By: Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 February 2009 18.29 GMT

The tenderness of the delicate American buttock is causing more environmental devastation than the country's love of gas-guzzling cars, fast food or McMansions, according to green campaigners. At fault, they say, is the US public's insistence on extra-soft, quilted and multi-ply products when they use the bathroom.

"This is a product that we use for less than three seconds and the ecological consequences of manufacturing it from trees is enormous," said Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defence Council.

"Future generations are going to look at the way we make toilet paper as one of the greatest excesses of our age. Making toilet paper from virgin wood is a lot worse than driving Hummers in terms of global warming pollution." Making toilet paper has a significant impact because of chemicals used in pulp manufacture and cutting down forests.

A campaign by Greenpeace seeks to raise consciousness among Americans about the environmental costs of their toilet habits and counter an aggressive new push by the paper industry giants to market so-called luxury brands.

More than 98% of the toilet roll sold in America comes from virgin wood, said Hershkowitz. In Europe and Latin America, up to 40% of toilet paper comes from recycled products. Greenpeace this week launched a cut-out-and-keep ecological ranking of toilet paper products.

"We have this myth in the US that recycled is just so low quality, it's like cardboard and is impossible to use," said Lindsey Allen, the forestry campaigner of Greenpeace.

The campaigning group says it produced the guide to counter an aggressive marketing push by the big paper product makers in which celebrities talk about the comforts of luxury brands of toilet paper and tissue.

Those brands, which put quilting and pockets of air between several layers of paper, are especially damaging to the environment.

Paper manufacturers such as Kimberly-Clark have identified luxury brands such as three-ply tissues or tissues infused with hand lotion as the fastest-growing market share in a highly competitive industry. Its latest television advertisements show a woman caressing tissue infused with hand lotion.

The New York Times reported a 40% rise in sales of luxury brands of toilet paper in 2008. Paper companies are anxious to keep those percentages up, even as the recession bites. And Reuters reported that Kimberly-Clark spent $25m in its third quarter on advertising to persuade Americans against trusting their bottoms to cheaper brands.

But Kimberly-Clark, which touts its green credentials on its website, rejects the idea that it is pushing destructive products on an unwitting American public.

Dave Dixon, a company spokesman, said toilet paper and tissue from recycled fibre had been on the market for years. If Americans wanted to buy them, they could.

"For bath tissue Americans in particular like the softness and strength that virgin fibres provides," Dixon said. "It's the quality and softness the consumers in America have come to expect."

Longer fibres in virgin wood are easier to lay out and fluff up for a softer tissue. Dixon said the company used products from sustainbly farmed forests in Canada.

Americans already consume vastly more paper than any other country — about three times more per person than the average European, and 100 times more than the average person in China.

Barely a third of the paper products sold in America are from recycled sources — most of it comes from virgin wood.

"I really do think it is overwhelmingly an American phenomenon," said Hershkowitz. "People just don't understand that softness equals ecological destruction."

• This article was amended on Wednesday 4 March 2009. We mistakenly referred to virgin forests when virgin wood, which includes that from planted, managed forests, was meant. This has been corrected.

Octo-Mom Nadya Suleman Received Over $165,000 In Disability.

(Getty/ABC News)
)

O.K. ...O.K. ...

I've held my tongue long enough on this one...

Excuse me for just a moment...

<............!!!!!> - That's the sound of me screaming in absolute horror and utter disbelief.

When I first heard about someone producing Octuplets recently, I was under the mistaken impression that there was a 'happy couple' involved. There isn't. (Nadya Suleman is single and lives with her parents.)

Not that that's absolutely necessary. But, that's not all.

Then, I heard that this Real Life "Octopussy" already has Six small children at home.
Well, they're not at Her Home. They're at her mother's/parent's home. But wait, there's more...

She's also unemployed.

No big deal - so am I...

But - being a sensible, responsible and somewhat sane individual -
I'm Not living with my folks... and I'm certainly NOT spending my time intentionally giving birth to litter after litter of offspring.

Then, it comes out that one of the six at home is Autistic...

... Hold on a minute...

I have a dog. (Just follow along for a moment) I LOVE my dog. I've only learned since taking her in - that being a responsible, caring and worthy dog-owner requires much patience, time, energy, love, planning and... money - to keep her happy and healthy (which she is) and me sane (which I... er)... well, at least a close facsimile.

I bring this up because raising One Child requires all of the same things and Much More.
If you then add several more children, the needs grow exponentially.
Now, imagine that one of the children is a special needs child.

O.K.... I believe that - at this point - an intelligent and sane person would reasonably think, "O.K. My plate is full.
If I add any more to it, things will start to slide and end up on the floor... Kerr-SPLAT!"

Then, I heard that she used invitro-fertilization - in spite of the donor asking her not to use any more of his sperm. Nice.

Then, I heard that her IVF-provider was claiming that only four embryos were implanted... and the four must have all split... As if implanting four made any sense for someone in her position with six kids at (her parent's) home?
Now, the State Medical Board is investigating the M.D., because (now) the number of embryos implanted was six - which is above and beyond the recommended two.

It's recently been revealed that the irresponsible and perhaps mentally ill Mother Hubbard had recieved Over $165,000 in Disability payments between 2002 and 2008 for a "back injury" recieved on-the-job at her former employer...

Which happens to be... Get this... (Somehow, I'm not the least bit surprised)...

A State Mental Hospital!

But, wait... There's more...

Apparently, records show that, although she is listed as starting work there in 1997, most of the time, "... she was unable to work."

Wow!! Someone call Ripley's!

This woman has undergone a Miraculous Recovery!!

She went from (allegedly) being Completely Disabled and Unable To Work and receiving a sizeable Disability payout...
To... Being Healthy and More than Able To Physically Carry To Viability and Birth 14 Children!

How does a 'physically incapacitated' woman whose injury makes it impossible for her to hold any kind of job, suddenly find herself capable of this incredibly physical feat?

Jeez... If her back hurt in 2002... surely she's immobilized by pain now... No, she did that interview sitting upright.

In that first interview, Nadya said (about her most recent IVF implantation), "Yes... I knew what I wanted. I wanted to have kids.".
.... Umm...Hello?...
Nadya?... You already do "have kids"... SIX of them... back at your folks house... Remember?

IMHO, what she's doing is thoroughly reckless, incredibly irresposible, singularly selfish and - for the religious-leaning - Sinful.

(And, I'm not even remarking on the indications that she committed a $165,000 Fraud by collecting disability when she obviously isn't disabled. I'm more concerned about our planet and it's resources.)

If you've studied enough history and biology, you might've learned that civilizations and species who became too numerous for the resources available to support - died out and disappeared.

Hello?
People of Earth?
You are not Excluded from this Possible Fate.

Trust Me: The Earth Can Survive Us.
But, We Can't Survive without The Earth.

I recently heard that someone in Great Britain has proposed a 2-child limit for couples.
I say, "BRAVO!"

But, based upon the initial negative response from people, I may be 'outnumbered', so to speak.

<.....!> - (That's the sound of Indignant and Ignorant Shite hitting the Fan.)

I happened to catch the women of ABC's "The View" discussing this enlightened 'Two-In-Two-Out' proposal.

One of them remarked that to impose a child limit is "...Un-Constitutional".

No, it is not.

I think one said that such a limit "... goes against Democracy.".

No, it does not.

In A Not-So-Intelligent Design Flaw... Of Great Detriment to Humanity...

Anyone With Working Parts Can Reproduce.

That's All It Takes. Period.

Not Any Other Skills or Abilities are Required.

No Basic Intelligence nor Emotional Intelligence Is Necessary.
No Psychiactric Exam.

No one checks for any issues with Abuse/Being Abused or any Improper Behavior With Children.

Shite!

We are Required to pass both a written and an actual get-in-the-driver's-seat-and-drive test before we are allowed to obtain a Driver's License.

But, as for obtaining living, breathing, helpless Children...?

Gabba Gabba Hey!... Anything Goes!

... And, boy, does it SUCK.

We don't hesitate to control the populations of other life forms when someone decides: "Well, there's just too many of them.".
But...
If anyone dares to suggest that we Voluntarily Control Our Own Number... People suddenly turn Indignantly Apoplectic

Like I said: Detrimental.

Personally, I have known since earliest memory that I never want to have children.

I've only become more sure of my choice to remain...

Not "Childless"...

But, Ecstatically CHILD-FREE!

And, if I ever changed my mind (not likely) I would adopt a child.

Peace.
L


(From: seattletimes.nwsource.com/.)

Octuplet Mom Got More Than $165K In Disability

By SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES —

A California agency says it paid the mother of newborn octuplets more than $165,000 in disability payments for an on-the-job back injury. The payments made over six years to Nadya Suleman were disclosed Thursday to The Associated Press following a public records request to the Department of Mental Health. The payments were made between 2002 and 2008, during which time the single mother gave birth to most of her six other children.

Suleman, who gave birth to the octuplets last week, was employed at a state mental health hospital from 1997 until December, when she resigned the position. Records show that for much of that time, however, she was unable to work.

Scientists Say Massive Chinese Earthquake May Have Been Man-Made

AP Photo/Geo-Sat Image
Zipingpu Dam

I know what you're thinking... "Man-Made Earthquakes"?...

Yeah... Sure...

... Probably man-ufactured by the illuminati... or some other not-so-secret, evildoing darling of conspiracy theorists...

Right.

But, wait...

It's True.

The "Man-Made Earthquake"-part... Not the "Illuminati"-part.

Scientists in both China and the U.S. are saying that last May's massive 7.9 Sichuan earthquake - which left 80,000 people dead (and, if you think 80,000 is a tough number to get your head around, try this one:) and five million people homeless (Yes, I checked it. It's really 5 Million.) - was likely caused by the massive Zipingpu dam. The dam - which is 511 ft.high and holds back 315 million tons of water - is 550 yds. from the quake's faultline and 3 mi. from the epicenter.

And... Believe it or not...

There's a documented history linking dam-building and dams with increased seismic activity that even includes the Hoover Dam in Colorado.

Whew! What a relief!

At least it wasn't those Dastardly illuminati!

Peace.
L.

Oh yeah...
In a related story...
Did You Know... Teacher Liu Shaokun was detained and sentenced to one year in a labor camp for posting photos of collapsed schools in Sichuan online. He's believed to be the third person detained for doing so.

Apparently, at least in the eyes of Chinese authorities, pointing out that the emperor has no clothes is considered a more heinous crime than using crap materials and shoddy workmanship to build hundreds of unsafe and deadly schools.

But, that's another blog...

(From: telegraph.co.uk/.)

Chinese Earthquake May Have Been Man-Made, Say Scientists

By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
Last Updated: 12:06AM GMT 03 Feb 2009

The 511ft-high Zipingpu dam holds 315 million tonnes of water and lies just 550 yards from the fault line, and three miles from the epicentre, of the Sichuan earthquake.

Now scientists in China and the United States believe the weight of water, and the effect of it penetrating into the rock, could have affected the pressure on the fault line underneath, possibly unleashing a chain of ruptures that led to the quake.

Fan Xiao, the chief engineer of the Sichuan Geology and Mineral Bureau in Chengdu, said it was "very likely" that the construction and filling of the reservoir in 2004 had led to the disaster.

"There have been many cases in which a water reservoir has triggered an earthquake," said Mr Fan. "This earthquake was very unusual for this area.

There have been no seismic activities greater than a magnitude seven quake along this particular seismic belt before."

The 7.9 magnitude quake struck last May and left more than five million people homeless. It remains a raw and emotional topic for most Chinese, and the government has been quick to quash any suggestion that Zipingpu may have been responsible for the catastrophe. Researchers have been denied access to seismological and geological data to examine the earthquake further.

Zipingpu is only one of nearly 400 hydroelectric dams in the earthquake zone. Mr Fan said the government had been warned of the danger of building so many large-scale projects in a seismically active area, but that the warnings had gone unheeded.

"I not only opposed the construction of Zipingpu, but also the overdevelopment of the reservoirs on Minjiang River. There are ten major reservoirs on the main river, 29 on its tributaries and a lot more smaller-scale reservoirs, all of which block the flow of the entire river, and are very hazardous to the local geology," he said.

Although Sichuan is an earthquake-prone region, many scientists were caught by surprise by the magnitude of the quake. Christian Klose, a scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, said there had not been any "major seismic activity" on that fault line for millions of years.

He argued that the sudden shift of a huge quantity of water into the region could have simultaneously relaxed the tension between the two sides of the fault, allowing them to move apart, and also increased the direct pressure enough to cause a violent rupture. The effect was "25 times more" than a year's worth of natural stress from tectonic movement, he said.

Although the official government line is that its massive construction projects had nothing to do with the quake, some state researchers in Beijing have called for a full investigation. Lei Xinglin, of the China Earthquake Administration, said that the Zipingpu reservoir "clearly affected the local seismicity and it is worthwhile to study the role it played in triggering the earthquake further". He added that firm conclusions remain "premature" however.

There is a history of earthquakes triggered by dams, including several caused by the construction of the Hoover dam in the US, but none of such a magnitude.

Achtung Baby: "Whoopi" Banned In Deutschland/Germany.

The Last Thing - well, nearly the last thing - that I would ever want to blog about is babies.

Ah, but this blog isn't so much about babies as it is an interesting look at the Legal Trouble that soon-to-be sleep-deprived parents might run into when trying to register that Perfect Name for their little bundle of... er, Joy.

"To Be Or Not To Be... One of the Many?"
In the U.S., the names Sophie, Hannah, Violet and Emma are enjoying rising popularity. Yes, they are pretty names... But...

Speaking as someone who - at times - shared the same first name with three other girls in the same classroom... For me, at least... It Sucked.

I've disliked my moniker enough that I've been planning on legally changing it for years.

What's stopped me?
Concern that my parents might feel slighted... mostly. That... and I want an uncommon name. One that - whenever I or anyone else says it - feels like it is Really Me. Something lyrical... a name whose letters roll and flow as naturally as the tides. I might even check out the numerology of the letters involved.

Oddly enough... I found out several years ago that my Artist Mother acctually had wanted to give my brothers and I much more interesting names. But, my Conservative Father rejected the idea of "... weird names."

So, currently (and, hopefully, temporarily) I am a weird grrl with an annoyingly common name.

But... Thank Goodness I was born here in the U.S. of A.... Here, at least, my parents and everyone else's have the freedom to make their own name choice.
Thankfully, they didn't go the Biblical route. But, they could have... (I shudder to think.)
They also had the option of giving me an uncommon or simply a non-gender specific name.

This Particular Freedom is not specifically cited in the Our Constitution, but it's here... we definitely have it.

Uncommon or Invented name-loving parents aren't so lucky in some other countries.

Achtung Baby!

Unique... Original... Non-gender specific Baby Names are OK in America...

But, if you happen to live in Germany and you decide that you want to name your newborn child something uber unusual...
Like, say: "Whoopi". (Based on True Events.)

Don't call-in a rush order on the birth announcements just yet.

After parents in Germany come up with their newbie's new name... they have to register the name... or, attempt to register the name with the Standesamt (Office of Vital Statistics).

The Standesamt makes the final decision as to whether or not the name is an acceptable one Appeals may be attempted for rejected names, but they cost Euros.

Oh, yeah...

As for the once ecstatic parents who wanted their babe named: "Whoopi"...

The whimsical name was rejected by Standesamt officials.

That's too bad.

Maybe those officials have never heard of this woman...


Peace.
L.

(From:online.wsj.com/.)
Name choices have long been agonizing for some parents. In Colonial times, it was not uncommon for parents to open the Bible and select a word at random -- a practice that created such gems as Notwithstanding Griswold and Maybe Barnes. In some countries, name choices are regulated by the government. France passed a law in the early 1800s that prohibited all names except those on a preapproved list; the last of these laws was repealed in 1993. In Germany, the government still bans invented names and names that don't clearly designate a child's sex. Sweden and Denmark forbid names that officials think might subject a child to ridicule. Swedish authorities have rejected such names as Veranda, Ikea and Metallica.

(From: yeahbaby.com.)

"German law mandates a baby name must reflect the sex of the child, and not endanger the well being of the child. Once a baby name is chosen, the expectant parents must register the name with the Standesamt. The Standesamt relies on a guide book which translates to 'the international manual of the first names'. The manual is referenced for making decisions on whether a baby name is acceptable. If additional information is needed, a German official will research the name which may necessitate calling a foreign embassy for additional information.


If the Standesamt rejects a proposed baby name, German parents may file an appeal. Should the parents lose the appeal, they will have to submit a different baby name. Since there is a fee for each name registration, having a baby name rejected will cost you additional Euros.


The Standesamt's website lists recent baby names decisions which went through the appeal process. The name 'Matti' was recently rejected as a baby boy name because the name did not clearly identify the gender. The name 'Calotta' was recently rejected because it was similar to the French word 'Calotte' which means cap. But, the Standesamt ruled the names 'Legolas' and 'Nemo' were acceptible baby boy names.


German baby names tend to be quite traditional in nature, and this may well be due to the process in which Germans must choose a baby's name."

The Inexplicably Underreported Assassination of Public Access TV (See: 1st Amendment)

I happened to have ABC's Nightline on my TV tonight (Friday) as I was sitting in front of my computer...
(I usually watch David Letterman but, when I heard Dave mention "the holidays", I knew it was a repeat and flipped the channel.)

I wasn't paying too much attention to Nightline either... that is, until I heard them talking about the uncensored and eclectic utopia that is Public Access TV and a recent (2006) California law that has - I sincerely hope it can and will be repealed - been allowed to - for all intents and purposes - Destroy It... and do so as completely and totally as a bomb would a building.

For those who may not know, Public Access Television is (was) a TV Station that's made available to you, me and everyone who might just be inspired to create a TV show and send it over the airwaves to thousands or millions of homes.

Public Access wasn't a BYO-equipment and everything else, we'll give you a space deal... Public Access TV meant a fully-loaded TV Station and included the studio space, all the equipment to get shows 'on the air' as well as a capable staff.

Until the 2006 California law (DIVCA, or the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act), your local Cable TV Companies - in exchange for the widespread digging and extensive cable-laying they were doing (not to mention, the ever-increasing prices they would be charging) - were required to make one or more channels available for public access (including the staff and equipment).
The best part was that the cable monopolies... I mean companies, couldn't control nor censor the content of shows broadcast on public access TV.

Tragically, this uniquely-American platform - the broadcast embodiment of our Beloved First Amendment: Freedom of Speech has been silently slain... No one heard a thing.

I didn't. Did You?

Even though I don't have cable, I was quite familiar with the Public Access TV program. But, I never heard a single word about any pending legislation that would take the Public out of the Access. Nor did I hear of it passing. That was in 2006. Here, in 2009, the first I hear of it is a brief spot on Nightline. Now, I'm grateful that ABC did the segment... I just wish that they and other networks would have done stories about it in 2006!

When I Googled various versions of phrases about "threats to Public Access TV" and "CA law Public Access TV"... Not a single Network Television reference appeared in the results. And, with the lone exception of the L.A. Times, there weren't any major or minor newspaper references. Nor Time, nor Newsweek, nor any other magazine. Not entirely surprising, though... as Time-Warner is one of the companies that is reaping the benefits of the Free Speech-Obliterating legislation. Apparently, the law was designed to help telecoms (Companies like AT&T Inc., Verizon and Qwest campaigned across the country for the legislation) expand into the profitable cable market. With DIVCA killing corporate Public Access TV obligations, these companies can now save millions of dollars... money that they will undoubtedly - instead - now spend on self-promoting billboard, magazine and radio ads, in endless junk mailings and for commercials on TV.

Wait a minute.... Haven't all of these same cable tv, international media-monopolizing and telecom companies already made many millions of dollars, if not billions, in profits?
Why are these profitable corporations getting what amounts to many millions of dollars in subsidies, while they campaign to expand their influence and increase their profits...
Whilst We, The People Get... Gaffled?

Peace... And Public Access!
L.

(From: articles.latimes.com

Cable Flips Channel On Public Access TV
A new California law allows Time Warner to close 12 studios that provided community programming in Los Angeles.
Critics say a valuable 1st Amendment platform is lost.

By Reed Johnson
January 05, 2009

For decades, public access programming on cable television has provided a virtually free forum for community activists and aspiring entertainers, for preening star wannabes as well as serious-minded political watchdogs.

But in Los Angeles and across California that forum began crumbling last week, a development that advocates say will strip ordinary citizens of a valuable 1st Amendment platform.

A provision of a law passed by the Legislature in 2006, which took effect Thursday, allows cable television providers the option of dropping their long-standing obligation of providing free studios, equipment and training to the public. In return, providers must pay a substantial annual fee and continue to provide a minimal number of public education and government channels.

The new law is designed to make it easier for phone companies to enter into the lucrative cable market by relieving them of certain money-draining contractual obligations.

In Los Angeles, 12 public access studios that provided programming for 11 community channels have been closed by Time Warner Cable Inc. That means much of the city’s diverse, neighborhood-specific public access shows may disappear.

If that happens, Los Angeles cable subscribers would be losing an outlet for their particular communities’ programming, said David Hernandez, president of the Los Angeles Public Access Coalition.

“It’s the regional broadcasting capability that’s lost,” he said.

Thirty other states, including Texas, Nevada, Florida, Illinois and Michigan, have enacted legislation similar to California’s Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act, or DIVCA, according to the nonprofit Alliance for Community Media. In several of those states, the loss of production studios was bitterly fought by opposition groups to little avail.

But the waning of public access programming in California would carry special significance for the nation, said Ron Cooper, a public access advocate and regional treasurer of the Alliance for Community Media in Sacramento.

“The rest of the country is watching,” Cooper said. “And not because it’s a good example – quite the opposite.”

In Los Angeles, public access covers an array of citizen-produced shows, including “Soul & Sound of Watts,” “East L.A. After Dark” and a late-night program by sexologist Dr. Susan Block. Between 30% and 35% of all programming is religion-oriented.

Although public access television often is mocked as a showcase for eccentric narcissists and sensationalistic provocateurs – what Cooper referred to as “naked Nazis” – he said only a small proportion of its content fits this bill.

“For the city of Los Angeles, the City of Angels, the media capital of the world to say there is no room for public” access, Cooper said, “I don’t even know how to describe it.”

Time-Warner says it is only complying with the provisions of the new law, which still requires a limited number of public, government and education channels funded by a fee calculated by 1% of gross annual revenue. In Los Angeles, that fee for Time-Warner amounts to about $5 million, which is in addition to a $25-million annual franchise fee.

“The spirit of DIVCA was to create a level playing field for all competitors,” said Patricia Fregoso-Cox, vice president of communications for Time-Warner Cable for the western region.

Fregoso-Cox said the company would continue to reserve four area cable channels for so-called PEG (public, education and government) content and that it had no plans to convert those to commercial programming. One city-run public access studio, in Boyle Heights, will remain open, at least for now.

As for the 12 studio closings, she said: “We have an exit strategy. Some of the buildings we own, some of the buildings we lease. Some of the buildings will be repositioned for other programming.”

In Los Angeles, the cavalcade of characters, gadflies and watchdogs that populate the public access channels aren’t going away without a fight. Hernandez has written to City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and California Attorney General Jerry Brown to ask for injunctive relief against the studio closings.

“It’s a two-pronged immorality,” said Leslie Dutton, executive producer and host of the Full Disclosure Network, an Emmy-winning public access news broadcast.

“It’s immoral for the city to do nothing to replace the assets that are being taken from the public with the millions of dollars that are still coming to them, and No. 2, for preventing Time-Warner from closing the channels down.”

Dutton and others say there is no guarantee that any of the four PEG channels will be used for public access programming. They also say that neither Time-Warner nor the city gave adequate public notice of the studio closings.

“There wasn’t a flier or a handout or anything telling what this was,” said Rob Baker, producer of “The John Kerwin Show,” a celebrity-oriented talk program that taped what could be its last episode Dec. 17. “Nobody knew that public access is hearing its death knell.”

On the contrary, Fregoso-Cox said, “this isn’t something that hasn’t been communicated, that people aren’t aware of.”

The closing of the city’s studios is only one consequence of a nationwide campaign by phone companies – including AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Qwest Communications International Inc. – to move into the cable market.

Many cable providers, meanwhile, are trying to compete in the phone market by bundling services (cable, phone, Internet), resulting in an escalating turf battle among powerful multimedia companies seeking control over a growing universe of information-delivery systems.

California’s legislation, drafted by then-Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, a Los Angeles Democrat, was signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in September 2006. Nuñez said the law would increase competition and lower cable subscribers’ rates, a contention challenged by consumer groups.

Public access advocates acknowledge that YouTube and other Internet-based platforms have given new outlets for citizen expression. But, they point out, YouTube doesn’t provide free professional studios, equipment and training, nor does it pay for the staff to run the facilities.

Furthermore, Hernandez said, because public access television “is a public asset already, why should the public give up something that belongs to them?”

Public access advocates in Los Angeles and other California cities won’t have an easy time getting back in the studio. Cities are broke, and Los Angeles officials question whether the funds exist to help offset the studio closings.

A city report estimates that the annual cost of staffing and operating a 12-studio system would be $2.7 million, plus a one-time $4.5-million equipping cost, excluding rent.

“We’re looking at a year in which we’re looking at a $400-million deficit,” said Jose Cornejo, chief of staff for Councilman Tony Cardenas.

Cornejo said Cardenas and other City Council members had been scrutinizing the effect of the new law for many months and concluded that their hands were tied by the state.

The council therefore decided to adopt the recommendations of a report by the Board of Information Technology Commissioners. The report said the city should consolidate its control over the four remaining channels so they wouldn’t revert back to Time-Warner’s management, as would be possible under the new law, Cornejo said.

“Time-Warner is saying, ‘I now can do this. Go fly a kite, council,’ ” Cornejo said. “They usurped our jurisdiction with DIVCA.”

Councilman Bill Rosendahl, a former cable executive, said he supported public access as a 1st Amendment right and “an electronic soapbox.”

He favors studying whether it would be possible for the city to dedicate more funding toward it. But he said the city must address many pressing financial needs.

“We’re in this spot not because the city of Los Angeles created it but because the Legislature did,” he said.

reed.johnson@latimes.com

"Mr. Roberts Goes To The White House."... Or, "Oops! I Did It Again."

(Doug Mills/The New York Times)

The Presidential Oath as written in the U.S. Constitution:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

That's it. Period. Concise and To The Point.

Hmmm....
Oh Yeah... There's No "... So Help Me God." at the end... It's that Supremely Important Notion of Separation of Church and State and All, I Think.

But when Supreme Court Chief Justice and Constitutional Scholar John Roberts swore in Obama, he flipped some of the words, saying: "I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully."

I'm sure it was just nerves... Yeah, that's it. The Chief Justice just gets butterflies from public speaking.

Or, perhaps... inexperience? After all, he's the youngest ever Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

I'm sure it had nothing to do with the little issue of now-President Obama having been one of 22 Senate Democrats who voted against Mr. Roberts' confirmation to the Supreme Court in 2005 — Making this not only the First Time a Supreme Court Justice has sworn in a President who voted against him... But, it's also the First Time said Supreme Court Justice has had to do it TWICE.

Peace.
L.

(From: www.latimes.com/)

Obama Takes Oath Again, Faithfully This Time

A day after he and Chief John Roberts stumbled over the words, Obama decides to do it over to remove any doubt about the legitimacy of his presidency.
By David G. Savage
7:43 PM PST, January 21, 2009


Washington, D.C. - President Obama took the oath of office Tuesday outside the Capitol, as millions watched in person and on TV. He took it again Wednesday night -- this time in the privacy of the White House, with only a few aides and reporters looking on.

The reason: During the inauguration ceremony, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. stumbled over the oath's opening words, and Obama repeated them back, incorrectly.

The second time around, they both got it right.

The president's lawyer and constitutional experts agreed that taking the oath a second time was unnecessary. Under the Constitution, Obama became president at noon Tuesday, a few minutes before he placed his hand on a Bible to take the oath.

"We believe the oath of office was administered effectively and that the president was sworn in appropriately yesterday," White House counsel Greg Craig said in a statement. "But the oath appears in the Constitution itself. And out of abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time."

Yale law professor Akhil Reed Amar said, "It puts to rest all the doubts. . . . We lawyers are cautious folks."

As for Obama, he joked that he and his staff decided to repeat the ceremony because "we decided it was so much fun."

Yet it was clear that the administration, having been dogged by false Internet rumors about Obama's citizenship during the presidential campaign, wanted to take no chances about the legitimacy of his presidency.

During Tuesday's ceremony, Roberts misplaced the word "faithfully" when he was reading the oath of office, and Obama repeated the mistake.

The Constitution says the president must solemnly swear "that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States." But on Tuesday, Obama said, "I will execute the office of president of the United States faithfully. . . ."

On Wednesday, there were no such gaffes. Obama raised his right hand in the White House Map Room about 7:35 p.m. -- there was no Bible -- and repeated Roberts' words to the letter.

"Congratulations, again," the chief justice said, smiling.

"Thank you, sir," Obama replied.

Amar noted that at least two presidents, Calvin Coolidge and Chester A. Arthur, took the oath a second time after questions were raised. In Coolidge's case, his father was a justice of the peace and administered the oath to his son upon the death of President Harding.

"Coolidge retook the oath in a secret ceremony," Amar said. "He didn't want his father to know about it."

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine School of Law, said the do-over "was just a matter of caution and compliance with the text."

"But I don't think it mattered. No one would have standing to sue. Obama would still be president. But this would stop people from asking whether or he was legitimately president."

If It Walks Like A Duck... Then, No... I'm Not Looking For Pot.

One of many great advantages I've discovered about Blogging:
An acute case of laryngitis doesn't have any deleterious effect.

Ahh... Life in the microcosm that is Haight Street...

In the wee hours of last night... or perhaps it was later (earlier?) than that...

And, I am startled to semi-consciousness by an all to familiar CRRAASSHH!... Preceded by a nanosecond by the screech of wheels... and followed by the scraping SSMMAACCKK! sound of bare metal impacting the concrete of the sidewalk and accompanied by the multiple notes of the widely-scattered tinkling of now-exploded and jagged shards of glass.

No. It wasn't what you might think. There was - thankfully - no car/bus/motor- or bicycle accident. (Though there have been plenty of those.)

No, these were the sounds of a late-night, beer-buoyed, independent, glass bottle recycler's overloaded metal shopping cart suddenly (and very loudly) biting the dust and spewing its bounty of bottles - now in the form of jagged chunks, shiny shards and tiny slivers - across a wide swath of both sidewalk and street.

Previous experience has taught me to already know what was coming next... The explosive SSCCRR-BBLLAAMM! which would smash through the quiet - amplified by the soundwaves bouncing off of the the buildings - every time a late-night delivery truck, N-Owl Muni bus or slow-cruising taxicab determinedly stalking its prey - rolled a heavy, black tire (or two) over the larger chunks of glass. This was because the passing pissed person - who only moments earlier would have done whatever he deemed necessary to protect the catch in his cart from any would-be marauders - now couldn't be bothered to pick up the pieces. No, the broken bottles were now so much spilled milk. And now? Now, he had to put pedal to metal and work to replace the loss. So, off he went... with the rattling and clinking of his now much more-manageable shopping cart of bouncing bottles trailing off as he searched for more treasure.

As someone with a canine companion, I cringe whenever I hear these sounds.

It boggles the mind how many otherwise seemingly coherent/fully-functioning people apparently see no problem with dropping/throwing/breaking bottles on our sidewalks and in our Parks... and then... nothing - they just depart for whatever it is that their mysterious thought processes proclaim is 'important', 'worthwhile' or simply 'fun'... and - without any misgivings - they abandon their contribution to the community: jagged chunks, many-pointed pieces and razor-sharp slivers scattered across the ground we all walk on. All of us. Some with two feet - usually with shoes on, but not always... some can't afford them. Some with four feet... well, Paws, actually - almost exclusively without shoes. No Nikes... Just pads of soft skin and tufts of fine fur... Nothing that - in any way - is able to cross paths with broken glass and... forget walking away the 'winner'... in fact, in many cases you can forget walking away altogether!

In spite of my constant vigilance when out with my dog... Jessi has stepped on broken glass at least three times. When it happens, she instantly starts favoring a paw. Since she's a bouncy one, depending upon her level of pain, it can be hard to tell if something's happened or not. If she's in acute pain, she'll stop doing doggy things and stop walking - other than coming to me, leaning against my legs and not moving. If I even have an inkling that something's up - I'll immediately stop, kneel next to her, lift each paw and carefully and gently check each pad and in between... twice.

On two occasions, I was able to remove the painfully paw-piercing piece. The third time, we were four blocks away from home and, suddenly Jessi pressed against me and wouldn't budge. She maintained a look directly into my eyes - something she NEVER does - and I knew. I checked her paws twice... nothing. I stood up and... Jessi wouldn't budge. I checked her paws again - this time with a flashlight - and found a small hole with a ring of blood around it. Whatever she had stepped on had pierced the skin pad, gone into it and disappeared. No wonder she wouldn't move.

If you've ever stepped on a piece of glass/a sliver of wood/a toothpick or anything sharp and felt it slice open and tear into the tender skin on the sole of your foot... you might empathize. And, hopefully, you would never be so heartless as to leave anything so menacing in your wake (Especially in Parks, where such hazards are multiplied as they are then hidden by dirt and grass.).

But, I digress.

The whole jacknifed shopping cart, bottle spillage and the menacing mess left behind had an encore performance earlier this evening - different cart, more bottles, more foot-flaying flotsam left behind. Although - to the careening cart-driver's credit - he did make an effort to pick up some of the bigger chunks of glass. Unfortunately, he then tossed them on top of the bottles remaining in the cart, where they shattered even more, and the shards and slivers rained back out through the ribs of the cart. Pure Genius.

With this menacing, if not colorful mess growing, I grabbed a broom, dustpan and paper bag. Passers-by had a variety of reactions to me. Some looked confused. Some looked amused. (Most of these appeared to be shoppers, diners, couples, groups of friends.) Passing cars slowed to a crawl. Some (those with dogs and/or who live outdoors) smiled and said "Thank You." and/or "You Rock." One man in particular stood out among them all. I'd already spent about 20 minutes on the clean-up (There was a lot of glass.) and was nearly done when he walked by. "How much do you get paid to do that?", he inquired. "I don't.", I replied matter-of-factly and mildly annoyed at the question. Since when must someone get paid to do the right thing? "You're not getting paid?", he seemed incredulous. "Then, what are you doing it for?, he continued, Are you looking for pot?"

I kid you not. He really asked me this.

Now it was my turn to be incredulous. I stopped sweeping the now sizeable pile of glass chunks and litter - all of it thoroughly wet and covered in grime, took a deep breath, looked at him and spoke slowly: "No. I'm not looking for pot. I'm sweeping up broken glass (apparently the broom, dustpan and jagged chunks weren't a dead giveaway after all). I have a dog and many people around here have dogs. I'm sweeping up broken glass so that none of them step on it and cut open their feet." (Simple, concise and to the point, I thought... that, and I hadn't even hit him with the broom.)
His reply?
"Oh. Okay. I get it."

Moral Of The Story:

Well, there are two. One is Practical. One is Philosophical.

First, the practical one: Clean up after yourself... And, if it's within the realm of your means and ability... Be The Change You Want To See and Clean Up the mess left by those whose only Contribution to our Shared Environment will be as Fertilizer. (Especially in your own community. Hopefully, doing so will inspire copycats.)

Secondly, the Philosophical: Found in this Blog's Title, which says...

"If It Walks Like A Duck..."
... Then, No... I'm Not Looking For Pot.

Peace.
L.

Increasing Evidence That Israel Is Using White Phosphorus Weapons Over Heavily-Populated Gaza

White Phosphorus:
"White phosphorus ignites and produces layers of thick white smoke when exposed to oxygen, but phosphorous from an explosion will cause serious burns that can melt flesh to the bone and kill. Its use as an offensive munition is banned by the chemical weapons convention."
(From: www.guardian.co.uk/)

Increasing evidence from eyewitness accounts and people on the ground in Gaza is pointing to Israeli Forces loading its shells and mortars with the highly-incendiary chemical known as 'white phosphorus'.

International concerns for the safety of Palestinian civilians are "... amplified, given the technique evidenced in media photographs of air-bursting white phosphorus projectiles. Air bursting of white phosphorus artillery spreads 116 burning wafers over an area between 125 and 250 meters in diameter, depending on the altitude of the burst, thereby exposing more civilians and civilian infrastructure to potential harm than a localized ground burst." - (From: hrw.org)

In spite of these reports and video evidence, IDF (Israel Defense Forces) spokespersons are continuing to deny using the caustic chemical. They also continue to declare that they are following the guidelines put forth in international law regarding what materials/chemicals may be used, how they may be used and for what reasons - as it regards heavily-populated areas being targeted... like Gaza.

Recently, some Israeli officials have gone a bit further, in that they aren't denying using the disgusting stuff - something which they did in recent past military actions against Gaza - but they aren't admitting to it, either.

Only adding sociopathic insult to excruciating injury... Seeing various Israeli talking heads - such as the head of the Israeli Consulate here in San Francisco - calmly and without the tiniest hint of humanity, let alone any sense of regret - speak expressionless about the ongoing and growing Palestinian civilian deaths and injuries as well as the unpleasant results of "wayward" Israeli shells or Israel's intentional bombing of a known UN shelter... and, now, the shelling and subsequent fiery destruction of a UN compound that included food and other relief supply storage... who so blankly continue to claim that their actions are only taken in self-defense and that everyone should blame Hamas for all of the pain, suffering and death.

It boggles the mind that these apparently educated people are so caught up in their own bs party line that they are blinded to the simple fact that they are doing exactly what Hamas wants them to do... Injuring, maiming, terrorizing and killing countless Palestinian civilians in their mad drive to eliminate Hamas leadership... All the while remaining Unflinchingly Unapologetic.

Their military might just may, in fact, eliminate a handful of Hamas leaders. But, their complete and utter lack of genuine empathy or human compassion for the terrible suffering of Palestinian civilians will only inspire the survivors of this over-the-top offensive to line-up to sign-up and replace those Hamas members that the bombings actually killed.

This isn't cutting off your nose to spite your face... This is Blowing It Off... Along with blowing away any innocent persons who just so happened to be in the vicinity.

The "Chosen People"?... Hmmm, apparently, they never got the memo. Or, perhaps it got incinerated by some of their white phosphorus... along with the Messenger carrying it.

Peace... Please.
L.



(From: www.huffingtonpost.com)

Evidence Grows That Israel is Using White Phosphorus in Gaza
By Greg Mitchell.

For several days, charges that Israel has been using white phosphorus in its Gaza bombing have spread, unconfirmed but gaining some credibility as some human rights groups have weighed in. But today the charges are reaching critical mass in the wake of the bombing of the main United Nations compound in Gaza City.

This just in from Reuters:

A warehouse in a U.N. compound in Gaza that came under Israeli fire on Thursday was apparently hit by white-phosphorus shells, U.N. humanitarian affairs chief John Holmes said. "The main warehouse was badly damaged by what appeared to be white-phosphorus shells," Holmes told reporters at a news briefing in New York. "Those on the ground don't have any doubt that's what they were. If you were looking for confirmation, that looks like it to me."

And update from BBC:

"Human Rights Watch says it has observed "dozens and dozens" of white phosphorus shells being fired by Israel at the Gaza Strip - a heavily populated civilian area where its use is prohibited."

Palestinian medical officials said they had treated large numbers of casualties with unusual burns that were extremely painful to treat and could be consistent with exposure to white phosphorus (WP).

The Times of London reported earlier today:

"The Israeli military has denied using white phosphorus shells in the Gaza offensive, although an investigation by The Times has revealed that dozens of Palestinians in Gaza have sustained serious injuries from the substance, which burns at extremely high temperatures. The Geneva Convention of 1980 proscribes the use of white phosphorus as a weapon of war in civilian areas, although it can be used to create a smokescreen. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said today that all weapons used in Gaza were "within the scope of international law.""

In fact, the International Red Cross has stated that Israel is certainly using it and Israel's response was a non-denial, a spokesman explaining that the military "wishes to reiterate that it uses weapons in compliance with international law, while strictly observing that they be used in accordance with the type of combat and its characteristics."

Foreign press cannot get to bottom of it due to Israel refusing journalists' entry to Gaza.

The use of white phosphorus as an illuminating device only is okayed by international law but such use is extremely risky and banned for use in dense civilian areas. The fires it sets cannot be put out with the usual water or fire extinguishers.

Today, at least two United Nations officials have flatly declared that three or more white phosphorous shells were part of the attack today that set a UN building and compound ablaze in Gaza City. Here is just one of many press reports, just posted by The New York Times:

"A spokesman for the Relief and Works Agency, Christopher Gunness, said that the Israelis had been provided with the GPS coordinates of all United Nations facilities in Gaza. He said that two buildings were ablaze and that there were five fully laden fuel vehicles at the site....
In the attack on Thursday, Mr. Gunness said, the Israelis used phosphorous shells, according to Bloomberg. "The Israelis have shot three phosphorus shells against the compound, where hundreds of civilians are being sheltered," he was quoted as saying.

Earlier this week The New York Times reported on growing civilian charges of white phosphorus use:

Luay Suboh, 10, from Beit Lahiya, lost his eyesight and some skin on his face Saturday when, his mother said, a fiery substance clung to him as he darted home from a shelter where his family was staying to pick up clothes. The substance smelled like burned trash, said Ms. Jaawanah, the mother who fled her home in Zeitoun, who had experienced it too. She had no affection for Hamas, but her sufferings were changing that. 'Do you think I'm against them firing rockets now?' she asked, referring to Hamas. 'No. I was against it before. Not anymore.'
Also this week, AFP reported:

"Medics in Gaza say they have treated more than 50 people suffering burns caused by controversial white phosphorus shells, a claim backed up by a report of the New York-based Human Rights Watch. And two Norwegian doctors, recently returned from working in the Gaza Strip, accused Israel of using the territory as a testing ground for a new "extremely nasty" type of explosive."

Then there is today's report by The Times of London from correspondent Sheera Franklin in Jerusalem:

"Remnants of an Israeli white phosphorus shell, identified by the marking on the outer casing -- M825A1 -- have been found in the village of Sheikh Ajilin in western Gaza. Witnesses in Gaza said that the shell was fired on January 9 and was taken indoors as evidence. They recalled seeing thick smoke and smelling a strong odour in keeping with the garlic-like smell associated with white phosphorus.
Hebrew writing on the shell casing reads "exploding smoke" -- the term the Israeli army uses for white phosphorus. Doctors who examined the shell said that it appeared to include phosphorus residue. Residents said that they suffered burns on their feet when they walked where the shelling had taken place."

(From: democracynow.org)*"Medics and human rights groups are also reporting that they are seeing injuries distinctive of another controversial weapon, Dense Inert Metal Explosive, known as DIME, that was designed by the US Air Force in 2006."
Gives a new and very ugly meaning to the phrase: "Dropping a DIME."
L.

The Billboard of SHAME Invites You To: "Visit... WHERE?!"(You've Gotta See This.)

Skateboarding back from the San Francisco CalTrain Station to Market Street the other night - in the midst of crossing a street - something caught my eye.

From what I've observed, it seems that the majority of people on the street rarely Look Up...

Thankfully, I'm not part of that majority.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "You Have Got To Be Kidding Me!", I said - to no one in particular - and burst out laughing. I felt it was my civic duty to photograph it and post it here in my Blog.

This is what I saw...




"Visit Israel * Different From The Israel In The News!"

Yes, that's right people of Earth! There are countless places in Israel where tourists can spend lots of money, do lots of shopping,... and not hear a single Israeli Bomb Dropping!

Now that you mention it... I hate it when my shopping excursions get interrupted by targeted air strikes and that annoying high-pitched whistle that precedes a direct missle or bomb hit...

It's really good to know that - in spite of the terrible suffering, thousands of injuries and violent, bloody deaths of over 400 men, women and children in Gaza...

There are still places where you can Get Your Party On In The 'Holy Land.'

Excuse me... I think I'm going to go throw up now.

Peace.
(Soon, I Hope.)
L.

HAARP - A Brief Intro. Also... Is There A HAARP/Hurricane Katrina Connection? Hmm...

After SK8boarding in my Favorite SF weather (Blustery and Cool) yesterday (Saturday), I stopped to visit one of my wise and wordly friends.
He's a Collector of Some Very Fascinating Things.
We Share an Interest in Sharp and Blunt Objects, Artwork, Artifacts and Obscure But Important Information.

At one point, a thick stack of documents bound together with 2 metal rings caught my attention.
I started flipping through the pages and one five-letter acronym caught my eyes and instantly stopped my page-flipping...

HAARP

If you don't know what the heck HAARP is... it's a shame.

It's a Very Big, Very Expensive (Your Tax Dollars at ------(redacted)), Very Hush-Hush, High Tech Military Set-Up based upon Nicola Tesla's stolen ideas and plans (look him up... Edison had Nothing on Tesla. But, Tesla somehow doesn't make it into the history books.), Radio Waves, Monkeying with Our Ionosphere (= the ability to "shut down VHF radio, TV and radar signals at will"), Influence the 'auroral electrodynamic circuit' (a Natural source of up to 1 Million Megawatts), Weather Manipulation and Who Knows What.
Oh... it's faraway in Alaska... Outta Sight=Outta Mind? Not!
(Uncle Sam's not too forthcoming with info... Surprise! Surprise!)

Anyway, Google HAARP, if you are a Novice.

Or, just check out the following article for a brief, concise and accurate introduction.

* Oh, what caught my eyes in the afore-mentioned stack of documents...
They included an in-depth explanation of HAARP and some of the experiments done with it along with their expected and actual results. There were graphs and photos and diagrams...

And a fair amount of information that pointed to HAARP activities being the Cause of Hurricane Katrina's Phenomenal Ferocity!

In the words of Sarah Palin (Who?): "I kid you not."

The following article doesn't go into the HAARP Katrina Connection, but it's a good Starting Point/Introduction to the damn thing.

Peace.
L.

(From: http://blog.wired.com/)



New Document Reveals Military Mystery's Powers
By David Hambling December 10, 2007 | 1:35:00 PM

For years, no military program has sparked more fevered speculation from conspiracy theorists than the mysterious High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, or HAARP. And for years, the Pentagon has been pooh-poohing speculation that the enormous collection of transmitters, radars, and magnetometers in Alaska was some sort of superweapon.

But, it turns out, the conspiracy theorists may not have been entirely off-base, after all.

Since its inception, there's been a huge range of opinion on what HAARP actually does: everything from a giant mind control facility to a space nuke countermeasure to a weather controller to an ionosphere-boiling mad science experiment to the mother of all pork projects has been suggested. But now that the program is actually up an running, military managers say the electronics array has much more benign use. "HAARP's main job is to produce radio waves to probe the ionosphere," an Air Force Research Laboratory officer said in October.

Which is true -- up to a point.

A drive by Clifford Stone on the X-Files-esque uber-site Above Top Secret to use the Freedom of Information Act to turn up UFO-related documents has led to the release of a fascinating report, HAARP: Research and Applications. It's from the Air Force Research Laboratory and Office of Naval Research, and it lays out the uses the military see for HAARP. Turns out the Pentagon wants some military bang for their buck from the program.

HAARP can actually perform a lot of militarily important functions, all involving the interactions of radio waves with the high atmosphere, magnetosphere and ionosphere.




The document points out that "on the higher frequency end (VHF/UHF) transionospheric propagation is a ubiquitous element of numerous civilian and military communication systems, surveillance and remote sensing systems." In other words, messing with the ionosphere means you can shut down VHF radio, TV and radar signals at will. As radio hams know, the reflection and refraction effects of the ionosphere make a huge difference to long-range radio reception, and HAARP provides the only means of influencing that.

Another interesting feature is how HAARP can influence the 'auroral electrodynamic circuit', a natural flow of electricity with ranges from 100,000 to 1 million megawatts ("equivalent to 10 to 100 large power plants"). Messing with the electrical properties of the ionosphere means some of this tremendous flow of power can be changed at the flick of a switch. In effect, the natural flow can be modulated to create a gigantic low-frequency radio transmitter.

Which is extremely interesting to military types. Extremely low frequency, or ELF, waves can be used for submarine communications and for probing the planet; because of the way they propagate, HAARP can cover "a significant fraction of the Earth." The document says that the waves can be used for "seabed exploration" and even locating mines underwater, not to mention "underground target detection."

HAARP can also "induce precipitation of energetic particles" in the ionosphere, which "could impact the operation and lifespan of satellites." While this is mainly about protecting satellites from particles from solar flares or nuclear explosions, the phrasing suggests that it might be able to have a subtle negative impact on satellites as well.

At the High Frequency range, HAARP also has some useful tricks, including being able to "enhance ground-to-ground and satellite-to-ground links that would otherwise be marginal or absent." Its ability to create a radio-reflective layer means it can create new over-the-horizon capabilities for radio and radar systems. It can even act as a HF radar emitter itself.

The third band is optical and near-optical: HAARP can make lights in the sky. While we have looked at the effect of creating high-altitude plasmas before (as possible anti-missile defence), the document notes that it can also produce "airglow with megawatt power…in the IR [infrared] region of the spectrum." This has "significant military implications for IR detection and countermeasures." The picture with this shows the IR glow below a satellite, suggesting that the system may be able to blank out the view of IR satellites selectively. Given that such satellites are the best way of detecting the launch of ICBMs, this is a significant capability.

All in all, it's a set-up that can do a lot more than just basic research. And while this may not seem much compared to weather modification, remember that these are just the capabilities they're willing to make public...