So the Department of Homeland Security said fine, go ahead and use our data base for your voter purge, Florida.

Now the real fun begins because the primary key for the DHS data base is the alien registration number. You have to have that number to search the file and no one knows where Florida will get the numbers for the people they are trying to purge. Undocumented immigrants don’t have an ARN, and about the only people other than DHS and the IRS that would use them are individual employers, as it is treated like a Social Security number.

The DHS told the state that the data base wouldn’t help them, so now the state can waste time and tax dollars finding out for themselves.

the EU taketh away.

The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly against the ACTA “anti piracy treaty [39 in favor, 478 against, with 165 abstentions] and then the EU Commission cooks up a deal to rip off the people who are actually creative: Artists angered by copyright plan:

Members of Radiohead and Pink Floyd are among the musicians angered by plans for a new EU copyright law.

They say the draft law, intended to give performers, composers and producers more rights over their royalties, does not go far enough.

Artists including Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason have signed a letter accusing the European Commission of “breaking promises” to tackle missing pay.

The Commission insists the plans will modernise the way money is distributed.

Performers, producers and writers are supposed to earn royalties every time their music is played on radio, television or public spaces.

The money is collected by about 250 societies around Europe – but the Commission says many of them hold on to “substantial amounts” of that cash.

ACTA was a give-away to the big media companies that failed because people figured it out and began screaming, so now the EU Commission is attempting to burnish its corporate credibility by enabling the middle-man societies to keep performance royalties that belong to the creative people.

Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon

Distance: 197 kilometers.

This is definitely a mountain stage following an intermediate sprint the riders face: HC – Col d’Aubisque (1709 m), HC – Col du Tourmalet (2115 m), Category 1 – Col d’Aspin (1489 m), and Category 1 – Col de Peyresourde (1569 m). The Tour is truly climbing the Pyrenees. This is no place for sprinters.

Thomas Voeckler has repeated his Stage 10 feat by taking the stage, the red numbers, and the Polka Dot jersey [by 2 points]. Cadel Evans has lost 5 minutes on Bradley Wiggins, leaving Vincenzo Nibali as his main competitor for the Yellow.

The BBC reports that Frank Schleck fails drugs test at Tour de France: “The 32-year-old, who finished third in last year’s race, tested positive for the diuretic Xipamide on 14 July.”

Xipamide is not a performance enhancer. It is a powerful diuretic used primarily to treat hypertension. It would dehydrate anyone taking it while exercising vigorously, leading to all kinds of medical problems. This sounds like a different form of “tacks in the road”.

Bradley Wiggins ( GB – SKY – 101 ) [Yellow]
Peter Sagan ( Svk – LIQ – 057 ) [Green] 356 points
Thomas Voeckler ( Fra – EUC – 021 ) [Polka Dot] 107 points
Tejay Van Garderen ( USA – BMC – 009 ) 6 [White]

Team: RadioShack-Nissan ( 011-019 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Thomas Voeckler ( Fra – EUC – 021 )
Combative: Thomas Voeckler ( Fra – EUC – 021 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Bradley Wiggins ( G B – SKY – 101 )
2 Christopher Froome ( G B – SKY – 105 ) + 02′ 05”
3 Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – LIQ – 051 ) + 02′ 23”
4 Jurgen Van Den Broeck ( Bel – LTB – 111 ) + 05′ 46”
5 Haimar Zubeldia ( Esp – RNT – 019 ) + 07′ 13”
6 Tejay Van Garderen ( USA – BMC – 009 ) + 07′ 55”
7 Cadel Evans ( Aus – BMC – 001 ) + 08′ 06”
8 Janez Brajkovic ( Slo – AST – 181 ) + 09′ 09”
9 Pierre Rolland ( Fra – EUC – 029 ) + 10′ 10”
10 Thibaut Pinot ( Fra – FDJ – 146 ) + 11′ 43”

The Rest of the Top 50:
[Read more →]