http://secretcommunique.blogspot.com/

Sited on the west side.  Be on the look out and keep those cats inside!

Update about Capitol Campus during current storm
 

November 6, 2006

3:30 PM
 
Here's the status of the Capitol Campus during the current storm.
 
Capitol Lake

No flooding is expected because of the heavy rainfall. General Administration continues to monitor water flow at the dam, and the dam was opened in anticipation of the rainfall.
 
Over the weekend, GA staff lowered the lake to about a half-foot below normal winter levels in anticipation of the rainstorm.
 
Heritage Park

There is standing water at the park, but this not expected to have any detrimental effect. Much of the hydroseeding at the park for the current improvement work is expected to hold up.
 
Hillside

The hillside and the trail from the Capitol Campus to Heritage Park are in good shape. The drains installed last year are handling the current downpour.
 
The trail remains open.
 
Leaks at Office Building 2, Highways-Licenses Building

Leaks have occurred on the top floor of the Highways-Licenses Building and the fourth floor of Office Building 2. These are related to the current roof replacement projects at each of the buildings.
 
There are also reports of minor leaks in the basements of the GA Building and the Insurance Building.
 
GA staff and contractors are responding to the situations in all buildings.

Only essential trips - to hospital or to buy food - were allowed

Most of the shops that I walked past had their grilles or shutters closed and locked.

One was open - a stationery shop. The manager, a Shia Muslim who didn't want me to give her name, passionately defended Saddam Hussein, and pleaded: "God Protect Him!"

She saw how surprised I was to hear this from someone whose community were treated so contemptuously and violently by Saddam Hussein.

Furiously she demanded: "What is better now? What security do I have? What future do I have with bombs and killing? We need a strong leader."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6122278.stm

A great big thanks to Enpen for this. This is Sep 2004 btw.

Here's a short snip from the article:

"This latest ad from Moveon PAC is about as misleading as it can be. Through words, graphics and sound effects, it invites viewers to think that the expiration of the ban on 19 semiautomatic assault weapons will allow people legally to buy fully automatic machine guns that can fire 'up to 300 rounds per minute.' That's false."

For the full story"

http://www.factcheck.org/article258.html

According to internal documents provided to Wired News and interviews with key executives, Gannett, the publisher of USA Today as well as 90 other American daily newspapers, will begin crowdsourcing many of its newsgathering functions. Starting Friday, Gannett newsrooms were rechristened "information centers," and instead of being organized into separate metro, state or sports departments, staff will now work within one of seven desks with names like "data," "digital" and "community conversation."

The initiative emphasizes four goals: Prioritize local news over national news; publish more user-generated content; become 24-7 news operations, in which the newspapers do less and the websites do much more; and finally, use crowdsourcing methods to put readers to work as watchdogs, whistle-blowers and researchers in large, investigative features.

Anyone heard of this?

October 26, 2006

Forget no-fly lists. If Uncle Sam gets its way, beginning on Jan. 14,
2007, we'll all be on no-fly lists, unless the government gives us
permission to leave-or re-enter-the United States.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (HSA) has proposed that all
airlines, cruise lines-even fishing boats-be required to obtain
clearance for each passenger they propose taking into or out of the
United States.

It doesn't matter if you have a U.S. Passport - a "travel document"
that now, absent a court order to the contrary, gives you a virtually
unqualified right to enter or leave the United States, any time you
want. When the DHS system comes into effect next January, if the
agency says "no" to a clearance request, or doesn't answer the
request at all, you won't be permitted to enter-or leave-the United
States.

Consider what might happen if you're a U.S. passport holder on
assignment in a country like Saudi Arabia. Your visa is about to
expire, so you board your flight back to the United States. But wait!
You can't get on, because you don't have permission from the HSA.
Saudi immigration officials are on hand to escort you to a squalid
detention center, where you and others who are now effectively
"stateless persons" are detained, potentially indefinitely, until
their immigration status is sorted out.

Why might the HSA deny you permission to leave-or enter-the United
States? No one knows, because the entire clearance procedure would be
an administrative determination made secretly, with no right of
appeal. Naturally, the decision would be made without a warrant,
without probable cause and without even any particular degree of
suspicion. Basically, if the HSA decides it doesn't like you, you're
a prisoner - either outside, or inside, the United States, whether or
not you hold a U.S. passport.

The U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized there is a constitutional
right to travel internationally. Indeed, it has declared that the
right to travel is "a virtually unconditional personal right." The
United States has also signed treaties guaranteeing "freedom of
travel." So if these regulations do go into effect, you can expect a
lengthy court battle, both nationally and internationally.

Think this can't happen? Think again. It's ALREADY happening. Earlier
this year, HSA forbade airlines from transporting an 18-year-old a
native-born U.S. citizen, back to the United States. The prohibition
lasted nearly six months until it was finally lifted a few weeks ago.
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union are two countries in recent history
that didn't allow their citizens to travel abroad without permission.
If these regulations go into effect, you can add the United States to
this list.

For more information on this proposed regulation, see http://
hasbrouck.org/IDP/IDP-APIS-comments.pdf.