Archive for April, 2009
Arlen Specter: The Need to Roll Back Presidential Power Grabs
Arlen Specter, NYROB: In the seven and a half years since September 11, the United States has witnessed one of the greatest expansions of executive authority in its history, at the expense of the constitutionally mandated separation of powers. President Obama, as only the third sitting senator to be elected president in American history, and the first since John F. Kennedy, may be more likely to respect the separation of powers than President Bush was. But rather than put my faith in any president to restrain the executive branch, I intend to take several concrete steps, which I hope the new president will support.
First, I intend to introduce legislation that will mandate Supreme Court review of lower court decisions in suits brought by the ACLU and others that challenge the constitutionality of the warrantless wiretapping program authorized by President Bush after September 11. While the Supreme Court generally exercises discretion…
Obama’s Transparency Promise: We’re Still Waiting
David L. Sobel, EFF.org: When President Obama — in one of his first official acts — committed his new administration to an “unprecedented” level of transparency, EFF applauded the change in policy. Likewise, when Attorney General Holder, at the President’s direction, issued new guidelines liberalizing agency implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), we welcomed it as a “particularly promising development.” But we also noted that it remained to be seen whether reality would match the rhetoric as the new policy was applied, particularly in the context of pending lawsuits — several of which EFF is pursuing — that challenge Bush-era decisions to withhold requested information.
Unfortunately, the early indicators are not encouraging. Last week, the Justice Department told a federal judge (PDF) in Washington that the FBI — despite the new Holder FOIA guidelines — will not be altering its previous decision to withhold a substantial amount of information…
Digging Up Dirt: Facebook Spies For Hire
Asher Moses, The Age: Large companies and government departments are employing a new Sydney-based company to dig up dirt on staff by spying on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube posts.
SR7 specialises in “online risk and reputation management” and claims to be the only company in Australia that actively monitors social networking sites on behalf of companies. It was formed about eight months ago in response to the growing trend for people to take conversations they would have traditionally had with mates at the pub on to their social network profiles.
Few people realise these seemingly private sites are still public spaces. If controversial posts leak to the media, it can lead to brands suffering immense damage to their reputations. SR7 director James Griffin said business was booming following recent public relations disasters sparked by the stupid social network behaviour of a few rogue employees. The firm’s clients included “a number of…
Air Force One Low Flyover Causes Panic In Lower Manhattan
The New York Times reports:
An Air Force One lookalike flew low over parts of [lower Manhattan] on Monday morning, accompanied by two F-16 fighters, so Air Force photographers could take pictures.
But the exercise — conducted without any notification to the public — caused momentary panic in some quarters and led to the evacuation of several buildings in Lower Manhattan and Jersey City. By the afternoon, the situation had turned into a political fuse box, with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg saying that he was “furious” that he had not been told in advance about the flyover. When President Obama learned of the episode on Monday afternoon, aides said, he, too, was furious.
[At 1 Liberty Plaza] Johnny Villafane, 42, said, “The plane did a 360. There was a vibration. The glass in the skyscrapers was shivering.” He added, “It sounded like the building were cracking, everything started shaking. I thought the plane was…
Iran’s President ‘Would Support Two-State Solution’ For Israel
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has recognised Israel’s right to exist for the first time, saying it would be “fine with us” if the Palestinians reached a two-state solution.
Asked if he would support an agreement between the Palestinians and Tehran’s arch enemy, he said: “Whatever decision they take is fine with us. We are not going to determine anything. Whatever decision they take, we will support that.
As Swine Flu Spreads, Conspiracy Theories of Laboratory Origins Abound
Perhaps due to the genetic makeup of the fast-spreading H1N1 strain of influenza — which includes genetic elements from bird flu, swine flu and human flu spanning three continents — there is considerable speculation that the origins of this virus are man-made.
It’s not an unreasonable question to ask: Could world governments, spooked by the prospect of radical climate change caused by over-population of the planet, have assembled a super-secret task force to engineer and distribute a super virulent strain of influenza designed to “correct” the human population (and institute global Martial Law)?
Technically, it’s possible. The U.S. military, all by itself, has the know-how to engineer and unleash such a virus. That doesn’t mean they’ve done so, however. It would be an astonishing leap into crimes against humanity to intentionally unleash such a biological weapon into the wild.
Then again, governments of the world have routinely engaged in crimes against humanity, haven’t…
More Atheists Shout It From the Rooftops
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Two months after the local atheist organization here put up a billboard saying “Don’t Believe in God? You Are Not Alone,” the group’s 13 board members met in Laura and Alex Kasman’s living room to grapple with the fallout.
The problem was not that the group, the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry, had attracted an outpouring of hostility. It was the opposite. An overflow audience of more than 100 had showed up for their most recent public symposium, and the board members discussed whether it was time to find a larger place.
And now parents were coming out of the woodwork asking for family-oriented programs where they could meet like-minded nonbelievers.
“Is everyone in favor of sponsoring a picnic for humanists with families?” asked the board president, Jonathan Lamb, a 27-year-old meteorologist, eliciting a chorus of “ayes.”
More than ever, America’s atheists are linking up and speaking out — even here…
FBI Locks Up Oklahoma City Man In First Twitter Arrest
From CNet News:
An Oklahoma City man who allegedly threatened on Twitter to escalate a “tea party” tax protest into an anti-government massacre has been arrested on suspicion of making interstate threats in what is believed to be the first federal prosecution based on posts made to the micro-blogging site.
The FBI arrested Daniel Knight Hayden, 52, after agents identified him as Twitter user CitizenQuasar. Hayden allegedly threatened to start a “war” against the government at the Oklahoma City Capitol: “START THE KILLING NOW! I am willing to be the FIRST DEATH! After I am killed on the Capitol Steps, like a REAL man, the rest of you will REMEMBER ME!!!”
Only Half Of Americans Prefer Capitalism Over Socialism
According to a new Rasmussen poll, just 53% of American adults believe that capitalism is better than socialism. 20% say that they prefer socialism, while 27% are unsure. While older adults are staunchly pro-capitalism, among young adults under that age of 30, socialism is essentially as popular as capitalism; 37% say they favor the latter and 33% the former. Are the Republicans right–is the United States morphing into Sweden before our very eyes?
As Economic Turmoil Mounts, So Do Attacks on Hungary’s Gypsies
Prejudice against Roma — widely known as Gypsies and long among Europe’s most oppressed minority groups — has swelled into a wave of violence. Over the past year, at least seven Roma have been killed in Hungary, and Roma leaders have counted some 30 Molotov cocktail attacks against Roma homes, often accompanied by sprays of gunfire.
The Missing Sunspots: Is This The Big Chill?
Could the Sun play a greater role in recent climate change than has been believed? Climatologists had dismissed the idea and some solar scientists have been reticent about it because of its connections with those who deny climate change. But now the speculation has grown louder because of what is happening to our Sun. No living scientist has seen it behave this way.
There are no sunspots.
The missing sunspots: Is this the big chill?
Could the Sun play a greater role in recent climate change than has been believed? Climatologists had dismissed the idea and some solar scientists have been reticent about it because of its connections with those who those who deny climate change. But now the speculation has grown louder because of what is happening to our Sun. No living scientist has seen it behave this way. There are no sunspots.
Drugs: To Legalize or Not (For)
By Steven B. Duke, professor of law at Yale Law School.
The drug-fueled murders and mayhem in Mexico bring to mind the Prohibition-era killings in Chicago. Although the Mexican violence dwarfs the bloodshed of the old bootleggers, both share a common motivation: profits. These are turf wars, fought between rival gangs trying to increase their share of the market for illegal drugs. Seventy-five years ago, we sensibly quelled the bootleggers’ violence by repealing the prohibition of alcohol. The only long-term solution to the cartel-related murders in Mexico is to legalize the other illegal drugs we overlooked when we repealed Prohibition in 1933.
In 2000, the Mexican government disturbed a hornets’ nest when it began arresting and prosecuting major distributors of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and amphetamines. Previously, the cartels had relied largely on bribery and corruption to maintain their peaceful co-existence with the Mexican government. Once this pax Mexicana ended, however, they began…
Drugs: To Legalize or Not (Against)
By John P. Walters, executive vice president of Hudson Institute and director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush.
Justified alarm over drug-related Mexican border violence has led to the predictable spate of drug legalization proposals. The most prominent was a call by three former Latin American presidents — from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico — to end what they claimed was the drug war. While there are many “end the drug war” plans, all of them, as even their advocates admit, result in more drug use and addiction. Their response? We should emasculate prevention and law enforcement and just spend more on treatment.
What would America look like with twice or three times as many drug users and addicts? To answer, consider what America was like in the recent past, during the frightening epidemic of methamphetamine, so similar to the crack outbreak…
Technology ‘Ends the Human Era’ Within 21 Years, Predicts Vernor Vinge
Since 1981 he’s been popularizing the idea of a massive technological shift which replaces “the human era” with an advanced humanity augmented by artificial intelligence.
In a new interview, science fiction legend Vernor Vinge predicts a technological Singularity within 21 years.
“I’d personally be surprised if it hadn’t happened by 2030,” he announces, saying humankind may become “the only animal that has figured out how to outsource its cognition” to superintelligent machines. “It is very unsettling to realize that we may be entering an era where questions like ‘What is the meaning of life?’ will be practical engineering questions,” 64-year-old Vinge agrees.
“On the other hand, I think it could be kind of healthy, if we look at the things we really want — and look at what it would mean if we could get them.”
Technology “ends the human era” within 21 years, predicts Vernor Vinge
In a new interview, science fiction legend Vernor Vinge predicts a technological Singularity within 21 years. “I’d personally be surprised if it hadn’t happened by 2030,” he announces, saying humankind may become “the only animal that has figured out how to outsource its cognition” to superintelligent machines.
Since 1981 he’s been popularizing the idea of a massive technological shift which replaces “the human era” with an advanced humanity augmented by artificial intelligence. “It is very unsettling to realize that we may be entering an era where questions like ‘What is the meaning of life?’ will be practical engineering questions,” 64-year-old Vinge agrees.
“On the other hand, I think it could be kind of healthy, if we look at the things we really want — and look at what it would mean if we could get them.”
The Zeitgeist Movement Bi-Weekly Report with Peter Joseph
Zeitgeist Movement bi-weekly report with Peter Joseph. The latest up-to-date reports on current developments and projects of the the Zeitgeist Movement and The Venus Project.
Bob Baer on ‘Real Time With Bill Maher’ — Torture Doesn’t Work
Former CIA Operative Bob Baer, whose story formed the basis for George Clooney’s Syriana and was featured in the Cult of the Suicide Bomber documentaries, appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher this week to discuss the fact that torture doesn’t work — and he should know, he was tortured.
Past (and Future) Reversals of Earth’s Magnetic Field Explained
Lisa Zyga, PhysOrg: Based on studies of old volcanic basalt, scientists know that the Earth’s magnetic field reverses at irregular intervals, ranging from tens of thousands to millions of years.
Volcanic basalt rock contains magnetite, and when the rock cools, its magnetic properties are frozen, recording the Earth’s magnetic field of the time. With this data, scientists estimate that the last magnetic field reversal occurred about 780,000 years ago.
Although volcanic basalt reveals when reversals occurred, it’s much more difficult to find evidence for why or how the Earth’s magnetic field reverses.
In a recent study, scientists from the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, both in Paris, have proposed a general mechanism that provides a simple explanation for field reversals. In their model, small fluctuations in convective flow in Earth’s core can push the planet’s sensitive magnetic system away from one pole toward an intermediate state,…
