Congress yields to pass Bush spying bill | Politics | Reuters

Congress yields to pass Bush spying bill | Politics | Reuters: "Civil liberties groups charged the measure would create a broad net that would sweep up law-abiding U.S. citizens. But the House of Representatives gave its concurrence to the bill, 227-183, a day after it won Senate approval, 60-28."

There it is... Vacation is obviously more important than the civil liberties of our citizens. Bush's illegal warrant-less wiretapping is now perfectly legal, and when the legislation expires in 6 months, I am sure that it will be renewed. Perhaps we will have another "terrorist" attack in the meantime to ensure that it is renewed, or even modified so that it allows even more lawlessness.

Here comes the new 9/11...

April 15, 2007, Dick Cheney: "The greatest threat now is 'a 9/11' occurring ... with a nuclear weapon in the middle of one of our own cities."

June 3, 2007, Dennis Milligan, Chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party: “I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001]."

July 1, 2007, ABC News: “A secret U.S. law enforcement report, prepared for the Department of Homeland Security, warns that al Qaeda is planning a terror "spectacular" this summer."

July 11, 2007, Michael Chertoff, Homeland Security chief: "I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk."

July 20, 2007, Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury: "Whether authentic or orchestrated, an attack will activate Bush's new executive orders [NSPD-51], which create a dictatorial police state in event of national emergency."

July 24, 2007, Peter DeFazio, House Homeland Security Committee member: “I just can't believe they're going to deny a member of Congress the right of reviewing how they plan to conduct the government of the United States after a significant terrorist attack … Maybe the people who think there's a conspiracy out there are right.”

From A Dawning Dictatorship?, by Captain Eric H. May. [Thanks Melinda...]

Obama vows to hunt down terrorists - Yahoo! News

Obama vows to hunt down terrorists - Yahoo! News: "Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday that he would send troops into Pakistan to hunt down terrorists, an attempt to show strength when his chief rival has described his foreign policy skills as naive.

The Illinois senator warned Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf that he must do more to shut down terrorist operations in his country and evict foreign fighters under an Obama presidency, or Pakistan will risk a U.S. troop invasion and losing hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid."

And this makes him better than Bush how??? This just goes to show that none of the major candidates can be trusted to keep us out of middle eastern affairs, which is why we have 2 wars right now...

The Raw Story | CNN: TSA knew 'dry run' terror alerts were bogus

The Raw Story | CNN: TSA knew 'dry run' terror alerts were bogus: "The FBI maintained 'they were right' putting the bogus reports on the TSA bulletin, which is distributed to law enforcement agencies nationwide, Todd reported. Airport security officers must be trained in identifying suspicious packages, even when those packages turn out to be innocuous."

Oops, they were busted pushing propaganda again. Keep everyone scared, so that we do not question the loss of our civil liberties...

U.S. plans big arms sale to Saudi Arabia: report - Yahoo! News

U.S. plans big arms sale to Saudi Arabia: report - Yahoo! News: "The Bush administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve arms sales totaling $20 billions over the next decade for Saudi Arabia and its neighbors, The New York Times reported in Saturday editions.

Coming as some U.S. officials contend that the Saudi government is not helping the situation in Iraq, the proposal for advanced weapons for Saudi Arabia has stoked concern in Israel and among its U.S. backers, the Times said. The package of advanced weaponry includes advanced satellite-guided bombs, upgrades for its fighters and new naval vessels.

Senior officials, including State Department and Pentagon officials who outlined the deals' terms, told the Times they thought the Bush administration had resolved those concerns, partly by offering Israel more than $30 billion in military aid over the next 10 years, which would be a significant increase over recent levels."

Brilliant, just brilliant. Let's not forget that many of the hijackers on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia. In this article, the king of Saudi Arabia calls the Iraq occupation illegal, and we are going to arm these people further? Saudi Arabia also took issue with the United States not calling for a cease-fire in Israel's attack of Lebanon last year. Of course, U.S.-made weapons were used in that attack, as well. It just goes to show that we care more about the profits from the weapons we sell than the actual political stability of the world at large.

The Raw Story | CNN's Baghdad reporter: Beware of 'smoke and mirrors from the administration'

The Raw Story | CNN's Baghdad reporter: Beware of 'smoke and mirrors from the administration': "Equally quick to insist that the NIE should not be taken too literally, Ware said, 'We must be aware of the spin, the smoke and mirrors from the administration, trying to reshape the message on Iraq being specifically about al Qaeda ... trying to evoke some Pavlovian response from the American public to fear them into again supporting the war. That doesn't quite hold water.'"

Yes, alQaeda, alQaeda, alQaeda. The more they repeat it, the more the public believes it. ("Repetition works David") Or should we call them al-CIAda?

Pavlov's experiment, from Wikipedia:

"The experimenters first performed a minor operation on a dog to relocate its salivary duct to the outside of its cheek, so that drops of saliva could be more easily measured. The dog, which was food deprived, was then harnessed in an apparatus (see diagram above) to keep it steady. Periodically, a tone was sounded, followed shortly thereafter by meat powder being placed in the hungry dog's mouth (each pairing of tone/meat powder is referred to as a trial). Meat powder causes a hungry dog to salivate, whereas tones have little effect. The dog's salivation to meat powder is an unconditional reflex--it is in-born, in that dogs do not have to learn to salivate when food is placed in their mouths. Initially, the dog shows little responsiveness to the tone. Over time, however, the dog comes to salivate at the sounding of the tone alone. When this occurs, Pavlovian conditioning has occurred, in that a new, or conditional, reflex has developed."

Or, see my earlier post, "Wanna go bomb?"

The Raw Story | Bush: Insurgents in Iraq same as 9/11 attackers

The Raw Story | Bush: Insurgents in Iraq same as 9/11 attackers: "President Bush, defending his troop surge in Iraq, insisted Thursday that the insurgents attacking US troops in Iraq 'are the same ones who attacked us on Sept. 11.'

Bush was speaking at a White House press conference on the same day an interim progress report on his troop surge in Iraq was released. Asked for proof of the connection between insurgents in Iraq and the 9/11 hijackers, Bush said both had pledged their allegiance to Osama bin Laden."

Same lie, over, and over, and over again...

From Natural Born Killers:

"Repetition works David. Repetition works David. Do you think any of those nit wits in Zombieland remember anything?"

[the nit wits are the TV audience]

Your Government: TSA Confiscates Water Bottle, Misses Bomb - Consumerist

Your Government: TSA Confiscates Water Bottle, Misses Bomb - Consumerist: "Federal inspectors were able to slip a bomb past the TSA 5 out of 7 times, according to the Albany Times-Union. Here's the best part: One fake bomb was placed in the same bag as a bottle of water. The TSA opened the bag, took the water, and let the bomb on the plane."

So much for enhanced security. A few months ago my nephew went to Alaska from this same airport, in order to help my Brother's pregnant wife out. His little sisters to the airport with him, so that they could say good-bye before he boarded the plane. Unfortunately, the person at the security checkpoint said that there was no way the kids could go into the secure area, let alone me, who just happened to be there in case my sister's temporary ID would not be enough to let her through security. This left the older of the two girls extremely heartbroken, and she immediately started crying. Thank goodness I was there to drive the other 2 kids home, otherwise, my nephew would be barred from flying. It is a rule that unattended minors must be supervised by an adult until the plane takes off. To top it off, the tickets were not refundable, so the money would have been lost.

What kind of threat is a little kid who is not even going on the plane? I think the truth is that they actually limit the number of people who come through so that they can reduce the number of people at the checkpoints, in order to save money. His flight ended up being postponed to the next day anyway.

Another neat little fact from the trip: the baggage inspectors stole my nephew's new hat and gloves that were purchased for Alaska. Fortunately, he had 2 sets.

Data on Americans mined for terror risk - Yahoo! News

Data on Americans mined for terror risk - Yahoo! News: "The FBI is gathering and sorting information about Americans to help search for potential terrorists, insurance cheats and crooked pharmacists, according to a government report obtained Tuesday.

Records about identity thefts, real estate transactions, motor vehicle accidents and complaints about Internet drug companies are being searched for common threads to aid law enforcement officials, the Justice Department said in a report to Congress on the agency's data-mining practices."

The database of information that the government keeps on each and every one of is growing by leaps and bounds. It really makes me want to live off the grid, but that is next to impossible today.

The Blotter: Al Qaeda Cell in the U.S. Or On Its Way, According to New Intel

The Blotter: Al Qaeda Cell in the U.S. Or On Its Way, According to New Intel: "Senior U.S. intelligence officials tell ABC News new intelligence suggests a small al Qaeda cell is on its way to the United States, or may already be here.

The White House has convened an urgent multi-agency meeting for Thursday afternoon to deal with the new threat."

Be afraid, be very afraid... of the propaganda the government is willing to spew, that is. Must stay the course in Iraq, we must, we must... (picture George Bush jumping up and down, fists clenched, stomping, in full tantrum mode.)

Ex-CIA Man Exposes Hysteria Of Car "Bomb" Terror

Ex-CIA Man Exposes Hysteria Of Car "Bomb" Terror: "Countering the frothing rabid hysteria that is being whipped up by a fervent media in response to three failed car 'bomb' attacks in the last few days in the UK, ex-CIA agent Larry Johnson joined Keith Olbermann to underscore the truth behind the madness - that the so-called bombs were primitive at best and would not have killed anybody."

My thinking exactly. The "bombs" would have created a heck of a fire if they had actually ignited, but there would be no real explosion. Propane tanks, for example, are designed to withstand fire, and without compression, the explosive effects of gasoline are greatly reduced. Not to mention, there are much more reliable ignition devices than cell phones.

The Raw Story | 'No modern president has experienced such a sustained rejection;' Kissinger: Bush 'at peace'

The Raw Story | 'No modern president has experienced such a sustained rejection;' Kissinger: Bush 'at peace': "'I find him serene,' Kissinger said. 'I know President Johnson was railing against his fate. That's not the case with Bush. He feels he's doing what he needs to do, and he seems to me at peace with himself.'"

Well I am glad he is at peace. At least someone is at peace. I bet the Iraqis are glad he is at peace too, and I bet the families of the fallen soldiers, the maimed soldiers, the mentally wrecked soldiers, the families of the Katrina victims, the slowly-dying 9/11 workers, and the families of 9/11 victims are also glad that Mr. Bush is at peace. What has his "peace" cost us as a nation?

ABC News: Secret Document: U.S. Fears Terror 'Spectacular' Planned for Summer

ABC News: Secret Document: U.S. Fears Terror 'Spectacular' Planned for Summer: "As ABCNews.com reported, U.S. law enforcement officials received intelligence reports two weeks ago warning of terror attacks in Glasgow and Prague, the Czech Republic, against 'airport infrastructure and aircraft.'

The warnings apparently never reached officials in Scotland, who said this weekend they had received 'no advance intelligence' that Glasgow might be a target."

Oops, sorry Scotland, we forgot to send the memo. I wonder when this "terror spectacular" is supposed to happen. Sounds like the name of a roller-coaster, doesn't it? Or perhaps a carnival? I wonder if there Will be cotton candy and ice cream? Gotta love the propaganda...

FBI wants students to stop travelling

FBI wants students to stop travelling: "THE FBI IS visiting the nation's top technical universities in a bid to stop students taking their holidays outside the country.

MIT, Boston College, and the University of Massachusetts, have all had a visit from the spooks to warn them about the dangers of foreign spies and terrorists stealing sensitive academic research.

The FBI wants the universities to impose rules that will stop US university students from working late at the campus, travelling abroad, showing an interest in their colleagues' work, or have friends outside the United States, engaging in independent research, or making extra money without the prior consent of the authorities."

Wow, the FBI is being just a little paranoid here. Not to mention, these students will be loosing educational opportunities and their rights will be restricted.

Norman Mineta Confirms His Testimony with Members of 911TruthSeattle.org

Norman Mineta Confirms His Testimony with Members of 911TruthSeattle.org: "At a bare minimum, this confirmation by Norman Mineta is in gross contradiction to the 9/11 Commission Report and poses serious questions about the Vice President's role in ordering NORAD to stand down on 9/11."

He conveniently read the minds of the terrorists and determined that the "attack" was over...

The Raw Story | Purdue researchers create 9/11 computer simulation

The Raw Story | Purdue researchers create 9/11 computer simulation: "More than five-and-a-half years have passed since terrorists toppled the World Trade Center, and questions still remain about how the buildings came down. Researchers at Purdue University have created a computer model attempting to answer some of those questions.

The simulation found jet engine shafts from airlines flown into the World Trade Center 'flew through the building like bullets,' according to an Associated Press video report."

If you dig deeper, you will find that a lot of the funding for this "simulation" came from government agencies. I find it funny that need to release another piece of propaganda to try and convince us of the "truth." In my mind, the video really explains nothing relevant. I also like the fact that aluminum is slicing through steel like a knife through butter. Not to mention, what happened to building 7? Let's not forget this from the Project for the new American Century:

"Section V of Rebuilding America's Defenses, entitled "Creating Tomorrow's Dominant Force", includes the sentence: "Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event––like a new Pearl Harbor"'

Homeland Security opposes passport rule delay - USATODAY.com

Homeland Security opposes passport rule delay - USATODAY.com: "WASHINGTON — The Homeland Security Department is vigorously fighting a move by Congress to delay a requirement that U.S. citizens show a passport to re-enter the country by land or sea from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda or the Caribbean, saying it puts the nation's borders at risk."

Yes, because the Americans are the true "terrorists." We must be, that is why they are wiretapping our phones, reading our emails, watching our internet activities, searching our bodies and our homes, with or without a rubber-stamped warrant. This is why habeas corpus is gone, detention centers are being built, freedom of speech is being curtailed, and the Posse Commitus act has been nullified. And finally, this is why King George has given himself the powers of a dictator during the next national emergency, to prevent we the terrorists from destroying his government. When will the rest of the sheep pull the wool from their eyes, and stop believing that the administration is protecting our "freedom."

UK becoming a 'police state', UN warns | Press Esc

UK becoming a 'police state', UN warns | Press Esc: "Counter-terrorism laws are rapidly turning the United Kingdom into a police state, a United Nations independent expert warned today and added that targeting Muslims through religious profiling was counterproductive.

Asma Jahangir, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, was particularly concerned about the new stop and search rules allowing the police to to stop and search an individual without having to show ‘reasonable grounds’ for the action, which the British police themselves have deemed unnecessary."

At least we have our best ally with us as we journey down the road to fascism. Meanwhile, a US author has become tangled up in a UK law that may very well stifle her freedom of speech.

The Blotter: FBI Terror Watch List 'Out of Control'

The Blotter: "A portion of the FBI's unclassified 2008 budget request posted to the Department of Justice Web site, however, refers to 'the entire watch list of 509,000 names,' which is utilized by its Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force."

Just wait until the new FBI system is up and running. The list will probably triple when they add those suspected of "pre-crime."

Put Rumsfeld, Gonzales back on the dock for war crimes - UN expert | Press Esc

Put Rumsfeld, Gonzales back on the dock for war crimes - UN expert | Press Esc: "Today, on the opening day of the UN Human Rights Council’s fifth session, Mr. Despouy noted with concern that the alleged perpetrators of the violations referred in his allegation letter of 13 July 2006 sent to the government of Germany, have still not been prosecuted in the United States and that, on the contrary, new legislation has been adopted in the US that practically impedes the prosecution of public officials suspected of being responsible for those acts."

Yes, our administration has made themselves untouchable in regards to its crimes of torture. It is very unlikely anyone will ever be held responsible.

AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: How To Foil a Terrorist Plot in Seven Simple Steps

AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: How To Foil a Terrorist Plot in Seven Simple Steps: "3. The fact that you do not know any actual terrorists should not in any way deter you. Necessity is the mother of invention: if you can find the right raw material -- a sad, sick, lonely, drunk, deranged, disgruntled or just plain anti-American Muslim somewhere in the United States -- you can make your very own terrorist."

Funny, sounds a lot like many of the "terrorist" arrests that have happened since 9/11, usually at convenient points in the political time line.