Saturday, December 16, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
THERE ARE INCREASINGLY LOUD QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF THE WTC COLLAPSE AND FEW ANSWERS
I'm trepadacious about bringing up this subject, both because I don't know a lot about structural analysis of large buildings and because I strongly suspect that my government- specifically the Bush Administration- is a rogue state. In effect, I fear it more than I do terrorists in turbans. Nevertheless, I'm posting a link to a very interesting film about the unanswered questions surrounding the collapse of the three buildings at the World Trade Center. You guys need to watch it and judge for yourselves if it has any legitimacy..... Personally, I think it does. I'm just not sure how much.
PISSING AND MOANING IN WICOMICO COUNTY
Oh look, Wicomico County schools made the AP national wire this week for the incident in which three schoolboys were forced to avail themselves of a soda bottle in leiu of a urinal.... I'll just bet school officials are so proud to make national headlines.
But now that their 15 minutes of fame has passed, perhaps they can take a moment to look back on the path that brought them such dubious fame. And given the decision-skills they've exhibited thus far, let's make clear that the examination should keep in in mind they want to avoid similar notariety in the future.
Okay. So the question was how to curtail vandalism and other untoward behavior in the restrooms visited by Mom and Dad's little darlings. Two words: toilet training. Do it before sending the kids to school. Failing that, the plan to have then escorted to and from the restrooms was not bad. But it fell apart without a backup plan.... Plan B, we'll call it.... So, what happens when there's no escort available?
Well, "we just wing it" did not prove to be as successful as they had hoped... But hey, on the Up side, these people may be more than qualified enough to get high paying jobs as War Planners in the Bush administration.
I mean, having the boys piss in a soda bottle carries with it several logistical questions such as privacy, contact with possibly diseased human waste and disposal - what happened to that bottle... whose job was it to empty and dispose of it?
Couldn't this have just been avoided by having the boys visit the restroom one at a time and having the custodian check conditions before and after each visit.... And is the teacher who thought this was a good idea even smart enough to be teaching children?
But now that their 15 minutes of fame has passed, perhaps they can take a moment to look back on the path that brought them such dubious fame. And given the decision-skills they've exhibited thus far, let's make clear that the examination should keep in in mind they want to avoid similar notariety in the future.
Okay. So the question was how to curtail vandalism and other untoward behavior in the restrooms visited by Mom and Dad's little darlings. Two words: toilet training. Do it before sending the kids to school. Failing that, the plan to have then escorted to and from the restrooms was not bad. But it fell apart without a backup plan.... Plan B, we'll call it.... So, what happens when there's no escort available?
Well, "we just wing it" did not prove to be as successful as they had hoped... But hey, on the Up side, these people may be more than qualified enough to get high paying jobs as War Planners in the Bush administration.
I mean, having the boys piss in a soda bottle carries with it several logistical questions such as privacy, contact with possibly diseased human waste and disposal - what happened to that bottle... whose job was it to empty and dispose of it?
Couldn't this have just been avoided by having the boys visit the restroom one at a time and having the custodian check conditions before and after each visit.... And is the teacher who thought this was a good idea even smart enough to be teaching children?
Monday, December 11, 2006
WATCHING THE WATCHERS
Check out this report on corruption in the Department of Homeland Security from Judicial Watch.
Rampant Fraud At Dept. Of Homeland Security
The massive federal agency created after the 2001 terrorist attacks to patrol the nation’s borders and guard it against terrorism is infested with criminal employees who regularly commit fraud, theft and smuggling.
In its short history the Department of Homeland Security has battled widespread corruption from within and the problem seems to be growing. A lengthy report filed with Congress this week details the severe misconduct of many of the agency’s 180,000 employees.
The report, published by Homeland Security’s Inspector General, lists an array of illegal behavior on the part of U.S. Government employees, ranging from immigration officials exchanging sex for visas, airport screeners stealing money from tourists’ luggage, federal air marshals smuggling drugs and other agency employees distributing child pornography.
In a six-month period this year more than 300 Homeland Security employees were arrested and 243 were convicted. They included Transportation Security Administration screeners taking jewelry and cash from luggage, another agent smuggling $80,000 into the country and two federal air marshals accepting bribes to smuggle cocaine through various airports. Also arrested were two Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who sold alcohol and cigarettes to illegal immigrants in their custody.
This isn’t the first scathing report detailing the severe problems at the department, which was created in 2002 by unifying various existing agencies in an effort to secure the nation. Many other reports critical about mismanagement, security flaws and the wasting of millions of taxpayer dollars have been published in the past. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security’s first Inspector general, Clark Ervin, lost his job for thoroughly investigating the agency and exposing its many flaws.
Ervin has remained a big critic of the department and he even launched an informative web site, Open Target, that features reports and inside information on various homeland security issues. Ervin has called the Department of Homeland Security dysfunctional and disingenuous and has accused it of not conducting criminal background checks for the very employees who supposedly guard the nation.
Rampant Fraud At Dept. Of Homeland Security
The massive federal agency created after the 2001 terrorist attacks to patrol the nation’s borders and guard it against terrorism is infested with criminal employees who regularly commit fraud, theft and smuggling.
In its short history the Department of Homeland Security has battled widespread corruption from within and the problem seems to be growing. A lengthy report filed with Congress this week details the severe misconduct of many of the agency’s 180,000 employees.
The report, published by Homeland Security’s Inspector General, lists an array of illegal behavior on the part of U.S. Government employees, ranging from immigration officials exchanging sex for visas, airport screeners stealing money from tourists’ luggage, federal air marshals smuggling drugs and other agency employees distributing child pornography.
In a six-month period this year more than 300 Homeland Security employees were arrested and 243 were convicted. They included Transportation Security Administration screeners taking jewelry and cash from luggage, another agent smuggling $80,000 into the country and two federal air marshals accepting bribes to smuggle cocaine through various airports. Also arrested were two Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who sold alcohol and cigarettes to illegal immigrants in their custody.
This isn’t the first scathing report detailing the severe problems at the department, which was created in 2002 by unifying various existing agencies in an effort to secure the nation. Many other reports critical about mismanagement, security flaws and the wasting of millions of taxpayer dollars have been published in the past. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security’s first Inspector general, Clark Ervin, lost his job for thoroughly investigating the agency and exposing its many flaws.
Ervin has remained a big critic of the department and he even launched an informative web site, Open Target, that features reports and inside information on various homeland security issues. Ervin has called the Department of Homeland Security dysfunctional and disingenuous and has accused it of not conducting criminal background checks for the very employees who supposedly guard the nation.
PLEASE, JUST SHUT THE HELL UP
Airport authorities out in Seattle this weekend elected to remove a Christmas tree from their concourse rather than argue with an orthodox Jew who suggested they place a menorah beside it and, according to news reports, threatening to sue if it didn't happen. So, rather than test the argument in front of a judge, the authorities just decided to remove to point of contention all together. What a bunch of boneheads.
First, had the Jewish dude bothered to talk to his rabbi, or to his lawyer, he would have discovered his position to be extremely shaky. Both would have undoubtedly told him a Christmas tree is not a religious symbol, but is, in fact, a vestige pagan symbol. So the argument that he was cranking up to present to the court- that being, if the airport displays icons of one religion it give equal access to all religions, holds no water.
Secondly, the airport authorities were no less boneheaded. I mean, they could have just said "no." .... They don't have any trouble doing that when I ask about my Fourth Amendment rights when they want to search me before I get on an airplane, and that policy is on equally shaky ground.
First, had the Jewish dude bothered to talk to his rabbi, or to his lawyer, he would have discovered his position to be extremely shaky. Both would have undoubtedly told him a Christmas tree is not a religious symbol, but is, in fact, a vestige pagan symbol. So the argument that he was cranking up to present to the court- that being, if the airport displays icons of one religion it give equal access to all religions, holds no water.
Secondly, the airport authorities were no less boneheaded. I mean, they could have just said "no." .... They don't have any trouble doing that when I ask about my Fourth Amendment rights when they want to search me before I get on an airplane, and that policy is on equally shaky ground.
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