http://patrick.ainge.com Life's hard, Get a helmet. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:12:48 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 1) Read THIS. 2) Think. ABSTRACT: This paper attempts to set out some general parameters for coming to grips with a central homeland security concern: the effort to make potential targets invulnerable, or at least notably less vulnerable, to terrorist attack. It argues that protection makes sense only when protection is feasible for ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2008/07/18/mueller-protecting-the-homeland/ A story in The Times of London. http://patrick.ainge.com/2008/02/07/another-fine-example-of-organized-religion/ The Financial Times today has an article about Jérôme Kerviel and the Société Générale scandal. Kerviel's lawyers are claiming that SocGen is using the affair to conceal other losses. Elisabeth Meyer and Christian Charrière-Bournazel told Agence France Presse that SocGen wanted to “raise a smokescreen that would distract the public’s attention ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2008/01/28/kerviel-might-have-been-a-better-trader-than-socgen-would-like-to-admit/ The NYTimes has a spot-on editorial on current FISA legislation. http://patrick.ainge.com/2008/01/26/nyt-fisa-follies/ Last night the invitation elves broke into my email and left me 6 more invites for pownce! Although I am a fan of inviteshare I am going to make some of them available here. Just leave a comment and I'll get them out asap. I will update the post when ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2007/07/26/pownce-invites/ Appleinsider has some great photos of the Apple Bluetooth Headset. Unfortunately I'm still waiting for Apple to ship mine to me. :\ http://patrick.ainge.com/2007/07/24/apple-bluetooth-headset-photos/ I was just over @ scobleizer and watched a demo of a new geo-presence service called plazes.com. It looked cool so I checked it out. The service allows you to publish your current location or 'plaze' and also find the 'plazes' of your friends. There is a desktop app available ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2007/07/23/oh-the-plazes-youll-go/ It seems three engineers in Wales have figured a way to process carbon emissions into more beneficial biodiesel, methane gas, and fertilizer. The Greenbox was designed to be fixed underneath a vehicle where it takes in carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide until the next fill up, at which point the ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2007/07/22/greenbox-to-save-the-planet/ I got my iPhone on June 29th and I never looked back. I will be the first to admit that my blackberry did certain things that my iPhone is as yet not capable of. But, I also entered into the bargain fully aware of it's shortcomings. I am an early-adopter. ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2007/07/21/i-love-my-iphone/ Scott Adams Writes: ...I want to live in a world where a rock star wondered, 'How can I make a billion people think about my schlong for a few days'?Brilliant. http://patrick.ainge.com/2007/02/07/scot-adams-writes/ The US defense department has outlined new rules that could allow terror suspects to be imprisoned [or sentenced to death] on the basis of hearsay or coerced testimony. (01/18/2007 draft of the manual) http://patrick.ainge.com/2007/01/19/draft-manual-for-military-commissions/ Chris Anders, ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel writes on the "...long haul to fix the Military commissions Act."from the ACLU Blog post: Thanks to Congress, detainees at Guantanamo lost the due process protection that the Supreme Court said that they had. The Military Commissions Act eliminates the habeas corpus protection to have ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2007/01/18/guantanamo-habeas-slowly-reclaiming-lost-ground/ ACSBlog: Constitutional Scholars Join Letter Asserting Congress Has Power to Stop EscalationTwenty-one legal scholars, including many who served as constitutional advisors to the President, have joined a letter to House and Senate leadership outlining Congress' broad powers to limit the commander-in-chief (pdf available here). As of now the link from ACSBlog ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2007/01/18/acsblog-constitutional-scholars-join-letter-asserting-congress-has-power-to-stop-escalation/ Bruce Schneier points us to another classic example of how fear/stupidity mongers are allowing terrorists to achieve their ultimate goal of getting us to disrupt our own lives for them. http://patrick.ainge.com/2007/01/17/and-the-terrorists-win-another-round/ The Guardian is reporting that an as yet unnamed woman will become the Tower of London's first ever female Beefeater. From the Guardian report: "There were six candidates for the vacancy, and she was the only female. She was awarded the job on merit - she will replace one who ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2007/01/05/first-female-beefeater-appointed/ The New York Daily News is reporting President Bush has quietly claimed the right to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant.Bush has issued a "signing statement" that declared his right to open people's mail without a judge's warrent under emergency conditions, contrary to existing law and in direct contradiction ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2007/01/04/the-decider-rides-again/ The Wall Street Journal is reporting that John Negroponte will step down from his post as "Intelligence Czar" to take a post as Deputy Secretary of State. Can't wait to see how Bush spins this one. http://patrick.ainge.com/2007/01/03/john-negroponte-steps-down/ In an op-ed column in the New York Times today author Robert Harris creates some very intriguing parallels between the recent political climate in the United States and Rome circa 68 B.C. IN the autumn of 68 B.C. the world’s only military superpower was dealt a profound psychological blow by a ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/10/01/an-interesting-observation/ We need to remind Bush what his job is. Whenever I hear the president mention, oh, every 12 minutes, that his greatest responsibility is "to protect the American people," the insufferable civics robot inside my head mutters: "Actually, sir, your oath, the one with the Bible and the chief justice and ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/09/30/its-the-constitution-stupid/ Hey! I'm back! Unfortunately just in time to post the full text of the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Just passed by Congress and on its way for approval by The President. Another blow to freedom, and another step toward Bush's police state. I wonder how long it will be until those who oppose ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/09/30/military-commissions-act-of-2006/ Go here. Watch the video. Think. http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/08/11/zefrank-gets-it/ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Benjamin Franklin http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/08/10/quote-for-today/ David Byrne saw a screening of a documentary called 'Jesus Camp' and posts his thoughts.From his post: ...When one sees religion perverted — in the U.S. or in Israel, Pakistan, Afghanistan or India, one wonders if the spiritual seeds, planted by visionaries and enlightened prophets like Jesus, Mohammed, Marx and others, ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/08/06/david-byrne-on-jesus-camp/ http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/08/06/watch-out-for-runaway-tires/ From TEDBlog (via The Daily Sourcecode podcast) comes Jeff Han's presentation of a Multi-Point Touch Sensitive User Interface. You have to check this out! http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/08/04/multi-point-touchscreen-ui-way-cool/ Here is a thought provoking analysis of the recent controversy surrounding Bush's signing statements. http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/08/01/georgetown-law-faculty-blog-on-bushs-signing-statements/ The New York Times has an article about Rev. Gregory A. Boyd, an evangelical minister in Maplewood, MN who grew weary of his congregation asking for the church to do their political thinking for them. http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/07/30/minnesota-minister-sees-the-light/ Patrick Combs epic story of bank errors, legal intimidation and the media. A timeless classic. (Also, apparently, a one man show that I'm thinking about trying to see.) Part I: Depositing the Junk Check Part II: Getting A Cashier's Check Part III: The Bank Freaks Out Part IV: Learning My Rights Part V: Beating ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/07/30/revisiting-the-past-man-1-bank-0/ Thanks the backwardsbush.com now we can all count down to the end of the reign of Emperor Bush. The only question remaining is how many more people will people will pay for his shameless greed with their lives? http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/07/30/how-much-longer-do-we-have-to-put-up-with-this-clown/ The National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC) posted a press release Friday. It seems Russell Tice, former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence analyst has been subpoenaed to testify in front of a federal grand jury. Here is short excerpt from the complete press release. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- July 28, 2006NSA WHISTLEBLOWER ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/07/28/nswbc-tice-to-testify-before-federal-grand-jury/ The Northwest Florida Daily News is reporting that fans can no longer be "patted down" before being allowed to enter the Bucs Stadium in Tampa. U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore issued an order siding with season-ticket holder Gordon Johnson and the ACLU of Florida who had ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/07/28/no-more-pat-downs-for-bucs-fans/ I'm not sure how this one got by me. CNet is reporting that 3 days ago the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals stated “... That border police may conduct random searches of laptops without search warrants or probable cause. These searches can include seizing the laptop and subjecting it to ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/07/27/coming-to-america-be-aware-of-whats-on-your-laptop/ Dave Winer is pointing to a post by Todd Cochrane at Geek News Central regarding Podshow. The folks over at Podshow are in the midst of launching their service and it seems a few things may need to be explained, Primarily why is Podshow re-processing the RSS feeds of podcasts ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/07/07/is-podshow-messing-with-your-feed/ Wired has an article showing a traceroute output claiming they can see the NSA wiretap in San Francisco. I did the same traceroute to nsa.gov from New York City and have a strangely similar line in my output. From the Wired post: If you're a Windows user, fire up an MS-DOS command ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/06/29/nsa-tapping-the-net-or-just-normal-routing/ I felt the need to share a small portion of David Luban's excellent post over at Balkinization: [T]he Bush administration is not big on European philosophers. So perhaps we can develop the philosophy in purely Bushian terms. To highlight its logic, I will present it in mathematical form, the ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/06/28/%e2%80%9cbushian%e2%80%9d-philosophy/ My mother sent this to me in an email. I laughed... alot! WEST MILFORD, N.J. [ AP Photo/SUZANNE GIOVANETTI ] -- A black bear picked the wrong yard for a jaunt, running into a territorial tabby who ran the furry beast up a tree - twice. Jack, a 15-pound orange and white ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/06/11/jack-and-the-bear/ Sandals with a built in bottle opener?!?! I want...No, I NEED these! Not that I get to the beach very often but how cool would it be to be able to slide off your sandal and crack open a nice cold [insert name of favorite bottled beverage here.] (mine would ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/06/08/super-sandals/ In a New York Times editorial today Ohio secretary of state, J. Kenneth Blackwell is called out for implementing regulations that could hit voter registration workers with criminal penalties for perfectly legitimate registration practices.From the article:Mr. Blackwell, who also happens to be the Republican candidate for governor this year, has ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/06/07/new-york-times-blackwell-blocks-the-vote/ Over at aboyandhiscomputer.com Mermaid posted on Dan Savage's “Savage Loveâ€? column on City Pages. Dan voiced concern about a washington post story by January Payne about new federal guidelines asking females capable of conception to treat themselves as “pre-pregnantâ€? regardless of whether or not they plan to get pregnant. From the ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/06/05/pre-pregnant/ WooHoo!! My favorite US government employee delivered my ValleySchwag package today! I got a great t-shirt from Rubyred labs, stickers from Goatsesighting, Riya, Feedburner and more... (Honestly, I probably wont be using the temporary tattoo. but it's cool anyway.) All this otherwise free stuff for only $15 a month! But just ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/06/02/valleyschwag-rocks/ David over at Misguided Thoughts blessed me with a Writely invite. I dropped him a note after I read his post. All he asked is that I extend the same offer to others, which I am. So, if you need an invite to Writely just drop me a note. http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/06/02/need-a-writely-invite/ The Center for Constitutional Rights is calling for the impeachment of Greorge W. Bush and it's no wonder. With the mass media buzzing for months now with news of Bush's “Signing Statements” where he quietly states that the laws of the United States of America do not apply to the Office ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/05/28/ccr-calls-for-impeachment/ Shane Harris and Murray Waas have an article on the National Journal's site about an internal Justice Department inquiry into whether investigators were improperly denied security clearances. You already know my feelings on this issue, so I'll save the rant for another day. From the article: The only classified information that OPR investigators ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/05/25/whos-watching-the-watchers/ http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/05/22/klein-documents/ Linatree is offering a downloadable camera. The pinhole camera comes in the form of a PDF for you to print out and a flash animated guide to help you assemble it.This is so cool, you have to check it out! [Via: Lifehacker] http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/05/22/some-assembly-required/ Tom Blanton, the director of the National Security Archive at George Washington University, had a great op-ed piece in the LA Times yesterday. In “The Lie Behind The Secretsâ€? Blanton questions the U.S. Governments accelerating use of the “National Securityâ€? excuse from judicial inquiry. From the Article:President Reagan's executive ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/05/22/national-security-or-just-plain-secret/ I haven't been able to reach feedlounge.com all day. Are they down? http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/05/21/feedlounge-down/ The New York Times had a bit on May 12th by Stuart Elliott about how the show Stomp is going to have for one night only (for now, at least) a live advertisement before the evening performance. More details in the article (free sub. required). I don't know how much ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/05/20/and-now-live-and-on-stage-in-new-yorkadvertising/ One of my favorite bands They Might Be Giants has produced some ringtones including one titled “Call Connected by the NSAâ€?. [via: The social software Weblog (direct to post)] http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/05/18/nsa-ringtone/ In the latest Crypto-Gram Bruce Schneier comments on columnist John Tierney's op-ed in the New York Times. Bruce has some interesting thoughts on terrorism and the media. I definitely recommend taking a few minutes to read it. Here's a bit from the article. Consider this thought experiment. If the press ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/05/17/reporting-terrorism-is-better-than-the-alternative/ Geek Rapper MC Plus+'s album Algorhythms is available for download. I heard a track on Adam Curry's podcast last week but when Crypto-Gram had blurb about it I went to the site and checked it out. I'm not much into rap but you've got to give these guys credit. This ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/05/15/gangsta-hacka-rappa/ The Fourth amendment to the constitution of the United States of America consists of one sentence and yet grants each citizen of the US with a great deal of freedom. “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall ... http://patrick.ainge.com/2006/05/14/wake-up-america/