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Glenn Greenwald has an article, How the super-smart, insider experts opine, about one Benjamin Wittes, “Guest Scholar” at the Brookings Institution, who has his opinions published by the The New Republic.

According to Ben, everyone else is too stupid to understand the entire issue about the Shrubbery’s electronic surveillance program and the FISA court. The reason is that Ben has studied the issue and he doesn’t understand it. According to Ben, if an “expert” like him doesn’t understand it, no one does, because Ben has actually visited the FISA court.

Glenn, as a lawyer, points out that the law, US Code: Title 50, Chapter 36 – Foreign Intelligence Surveillance, is actually quite simple and straight forward, essentially, electronic surveillance requires a warrant. That’s it – officials need to obtain a warrant.

Unlike Ben, I’m not a “Guest Scholar” at a think tank. Unlike Glenn, I’m not a lawyer. No, I’m just some guy with a web site™, who happens to have been assigned to the National Security Agency, who happens to have a degree in Information Technology, who happens to have spent a decade in law enforcement. What could I know about electronic surveillance by the National Security Agency or obtaining warrants?

What they were/are doing is illegal. Nothing obtained by their actions is admissible, nor is anything derived from it. There is no excuse for what they have been up to, and if they had tried it in my jurisdiction they would have been arrested and prosecuted.

As for the garbage about “we don’t know what they doing,” just about everyone who works with networks on a regular basis has a damn good idea of exactly what they were doing, and it wouldn’t take much poking around to prove it. There are logging activities going on all over the various networks that can be used to back-trace, and tampering with the logs will also produce evidence.

Be advised that currently iTunes & Vista don’t like each other. There are some work-arounds, but when you can’t download music and have it play on your iPod, it sounds broken to me.

This is no doubt part of the “protect copyright at all costs and screw the users” that is built into Vista as part of the “security.” Word is that Vista spends a lot of resources verifying that the “thieving” users aren’t doing any possible type or form of “piracy,” like downloading free software.

Oh, if you use someone else’s security software, like Norton, it probably won’t work either. This reminds me of the old days when the mantra about new MicroSoft OSs was “if Lotus will run, it isn’t done,” a reference to the fact that Lotus Notes was very popular and MicroSoft wanted people to use Outlook. I’m sure it was just coincidental that Lotus software never seemed to work after an OS upgrade.

Natasha at Pacific Views has a round-up, Iran: Some Presidential Candidate Perspectives, that features the generally less than informed views of people running for President of the United States.

There’s no point in going over the information I covered last April in my post on Operation Iranian Liberation.

I will re-emphasize the reality that while Iran pumps crude oil, it lacks refineries and must purchase gasoline and other petroleum products from other nations. This problem is the result of having its resources developed by other countries that had no concern for Iran.

This problem is behind the Iranian insistence on having the ability to produce its own nuclear fuel, rather than depending on buying the fuel from other nations. Iran has uranium and doesn’t want to repeat the mistake that was made in petroleum production.

[Read more →]

I stopped in to see my Mother tonight and out of the blue she asked me what has happened to John McCain. She wondered if he had been in an accident or something, because she thought he had lost his mind from some of the things he has been saying recently.

Now, I don’t think my Mother would ever really consider voting for McCain, she’s has been a Democrat since FDR took over from Hoover, but she respected him for his service. Now, she thinks his family needs to get him some help before things get worse.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the Shrubbery’s people have made him the same offer they made Cruella de Harris to get her to let Mel Martinez run for the Senate in 2004, if you back our plan, we will help you in the next election. John, they were lying to you like they lied to her. The loyalty is all one way with these people. Harris and Libby have found out that they will cast you aside without a thought on a whim. You have sold your soul for nothing.

First Barbara Jordan – the voice of Watergate and justice, then Ann Richards – who could barbeque you with a phrase, and now Molly – whose gentle humor covered a deeply felt sense of social justice.

The three of the best things to come out of the Lone Star state are all gone.

Rest in peace.

* 1649 – King Charles I of England is beheaded.
* 1661 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England is formally executed – after having been dead for two years (it’s never too late for revisionism).
* 1835 – A mentally ill man named Richard Lawrence attempts to assassinate President Andrew Jackson in the United States Capitol — the first assassination attempt against a President. Both of Lawrence’s pistols misfire, and Jackson proceeds to beat his would-be assassin with his cane.
* 1889 – Archduke Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, was found dead with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera in Mayerling. How they died remains a mystery.
* 1933 – Adolf Hitler is sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.
* 1948 – Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Gandhi is assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist.
* 1968 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive begins when Viet Cong forces launch series of a surprise attacks in South Vietnam.
* 1969 – The Beatles’ last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police.
* 1972 – Bloody Sunday: United Kingdom British Paratroopers kill fourteen Roman Catholic civil rights /anti internment marchers in Northern Ireland- Bloody Sunday
* 2003 – Belgium legally recognizes same-sex marriage.
* 2005 – Amid violence and threats to boycott the results, Iraq holds an election for its National Assembly, the country’s first free election since 1953.

Births
* 1882 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32^nd President of the United States
* 1912 – Barbara W. Tuchman, American historian
* 1922 – Dick Martin, American comedian
* 1930 – Samuel J. Byck, American attempted assassin of Richard Nixon
* 1941 – Dick Cheney, oil executive
* 1962 – King Abdullah II of Jordan
* 1962 – Mary Kay Letourneau, American teacher

Karen at Peripetia discusses David “Bobo” Brooks strategy for Iraq in her post, No Use Crying Over Broken Eggs… Bobo’s plan is as simple and fantasy-based as the man himself – the country will become a federation of three states, everyone will share in the oil wealth, and the war will stop.

It sounds logical, and reasonable, and completely ignores the lack of good will that is required to make it work.

If a logical plan was all that was require to solve problems, the Israeli-Palestinian problem would have been resolved before the Korean War started.

The Kurds do not want to be part of Iraq, they want their own nation, and that will lead to the situation that Juan Cole sees addressed in a Toronto Star article, Dividing Iraq means ‘endless war’: Turkey.

The Turkish Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gul, makes it plain that Turkey will invade if raids from Iraqi Kurdistan don’t stop, and the Iraqi Kurds have no interest in stopping the PKK from their attacks into Turkey.

We can all stand around and say that this doesn’t make sense, but it makes sense to the Kurds, and they are willing to die for it. They went along with the Shrubbery’s plan to invade Iraq, despite being screwed over by Republican Presidents going back to Nixon. They can see victory, so they are not going to settle for less.

Even if we had followed doctrine and maintained security in Iraq after the invasion, I’m not certain we could have kept the Kurds in a nation called Iraq. Deals were made to get their assistance, and the Kurds are going to enforce the terms of those agreements, with blood if necessary.

A quick review of the effects of nationalism when the Soviet Bloc collapsed should have told anyone who was paying attention what was going to happen. Not even Czechoslovakia was able to remain as a single nation. Expecting to accomplish in Iraq what couldn’t be accomplished in Czechoslovakia, where there was no war, is unrealistic.

Florida License Plates

Beneficiary

A weekend feature of Why Now.

Both Steve of No More Mr. Nice Blog and John McKay of Archy noticed the announcement that having lost over $10 billion last year Ford is considering giving managers bonuses to keep them. In most of the rest of the world, and in sports teams in the US, when the organization is a loser you fire executives, or at least cut their salaries for the poor performance. Ford is going to pay the people in charge more money for failure.

Steve also quoted the part of the article that indicated that Ford is going to ask for concessions from the unions to “turn things around.”

Lets see, the people who actually make the products that the company sells are expected to take a pay cut, because the guys at the top had them make products that people don’t want to buy. The guys who decided to build the products that no one wants get bonuses. I guess you have to have an MBA to understand this logic.

Pierre Tristam calls it The Hounding of Maher Arar, while Glenn Greenwald talks of a Tale of two governments. Ellroon notices that Canada is getting a bit testy with us.

In the linked CBC article retired Canadian diplomat, Jeremy Kinsman, channels his mother’s people from Texas and writes: From one ambassador to another: Mr. Wilkins, cut the bull.

The facts indicate that the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins, is something of jerk, who manages to insult Canadians and their government on a regular basis. I’ve written about him before on other US-Canadian issues. He seems to find just the wrong words and manages to do the near impossible feat of really pissing off the Canadians.

Ellroon covers the diplomatic part of the article but further down is a great piece of snark from a Canadian politician:

In the innocent days prior to 9/11, one of Paul Martin’s memorable lines as finance minister was his sceptical reaction to an appropriations request for a big increase in the Canadian intelligence budget.

At the time, Martin noted that the U.S. spends billions on intelligence and still hasn’t a clue, whereas Canada gets the same result for nothing.

If you are interested in the mindset of the people in charge of the War on Terror™, read about the activities of Pierre de Lancre during the Labourd witch-hunt of 1609. [For Pratchett fans, this is the source of the name for the country.]

Keep in mind that the US is a “civilized” country, and waterboarding is nothing like dunking people suspected of witchcraft. [Yeah, right.]

As the Republicans look at the definite possibility of losing the White House to the Democratic candidate in 2008, they are also beginning to notice that the individual could well be a woman, an African-American, an Hispanic-American, or a trial lawyer. I expect a lot of the wingers will choke on their Kool-Aid when this occurs to them.

Tony, Topper, Scout, Loco, Trigger, Champion – those are the names of something that you will not see on the Shrubbery’s property in Crawford: horses. Cowboys ride horses, and the Shrubbery apparently has a problem with horses. That property isn’t a ranch, or a farm, the only “stock” are bass in a pond on the property.

My Dad was the weekend projectionist in the local theater when I was a child, so my brothers and I saw a lot of movies, and the majority were B westerns. My maternal grandfather read Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour almost exclusively, so my Mother liked westerns. She would watch all of the westerns on TV, and still watches reruns of Gunsmoke and Bonanza on a nostalgia channel. I know about cowboys.

The Shrubbery has absolutely no connection to the “Code of the West” or any of the things that caused young children to cheer on the sheriff. Remember: the good guy never draws first, and never, ever shoots anyone in the back. There’s a name for people like the Shrubbery in westerns, and he has been rubbing the noses of those who think he’s cowboy hero: he’s a bushwhacker.

The Pensacola Beach Blog notes that State Farm Settles Mississippi Katrina Claims, which is good news for Trent Lott and other Mississippians who have been stiffed by State Farm for a year and a half. Hopefully the other insurance companies will also settle, and people along the Gulf Coast can move forward with rebuilding their lives.

Policyholders in each of the affected states are going to be required to go to court to get similar deals, because the laws and regulations are different in each state, but the framework is there for possible settlements.

I’ve had my “legislature warning flag” on the sidebar because the Florida legislature has been meeting in special session to deal with the property insurance crisis in the state. Rates have been skyrocketing despite record profits for the insurance companies.

Frankly, the free market doesn’t have an answer for the situation where private enterprise isn’t interested in providing a service. The state has had to create its own insurer of last resort, but that company isn’t allowed to compete with private companies and is required by law to charge more than the private companies for coverage.

The Republicans have passed a bill, but it seems to be predicated on the state not being struck by hurricanes any time soon, which is not a good bet.

When the Shrubbery talks about private insurance companies being the best solution for health care coverage, he obviously has never had to deal with those companies as a claimant. He seems to assume, like Trent Lott did, that you will get what you paid for. That only works if you are ready, willing, and able to sue them.

So, to impress the world with how seriously he takes energy conservation and weaning the US off foreign oil, the Shrubbery made a speech that is at the White House site: President Bush Discusses Energy Initiative. The speech was given at the DuPont Theater, Hotel du Pont in Wilmington, Delaware, about 100 miles away.

Nothing says concern for conservation more than taking a helicopter from the White House to Andrews AFB, and then flying two 747s a hundred miles [one plane for him and one for the motorcade vehicles and support staff] and then coming back.

It would have used less oil to have chartered buses and brought the audience to the White House.