You might have noticed this is rather long. My intention when I started collecting info for this blog post was to discuss the FISA program and the phone companies. I found some other info that was certainly eye-opening, so I thought I'd share it, despite the length.
First of all - what sort of information is the government looking for when they make a request? According to this 13-page letter that Verizon released to the Energy and Commerce Committee on Monday, the government wants to know:
1. Subscriber Name; 2. Subscriber Address; 3. Local and long distance telephone connection records, or records of session times and durations; 4. Length of service and type of service utilized; 5. Telephone or instrument number or other subscriber number or identity, including any temporarily assigned network address; and 6. Means and source of payment for such service, including credit card or bank account number of a subscriber to such service.
(bold-face mine)
excuse me? Local calls?? Didn't Bush specifically say they only got the info for calls made into or out of this country? Keep this in mind - it will be important later...
Continue reading...
96 comments(Latest Comment: 11/08/2007 19:43:55 by Raine)
We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures in the warron terra, courtesy of Antiwar.com:
American Deaths Since war began (3/19/03): 3829 Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 3690 Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3368 Since Handover (6/29/04): 2970 Since Election (1/31/05): 2392
Other Coalition Troops: 302 US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 449
Turning to our friends at IAVA, we find that they too are concerned about the recent veto of the SCHIP program. As it turns out, there are two little-known riders within the program that help the families of wounded troops.
NEW YORK – Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation's first and largest nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, today urged Congress to override the President’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) reauthorization. SCHIP includes two little-known provisions which help the families of critically wounded troops. The provisions provide one year of employment discrimination protection to family members caring for severely injured troops, and extends permitted work leave for those family members from three months to six months. Congress passed SCHIP earlier this month, but President Bush vetoed the legislation for reasons unrelated to these military families’ amendments. This Thursday, the House will vote on whether to override the President’s veto.
“Any member of Congress who supports the troops should vote to override the President’s veto. If SCHIP fails, so does this protection for families of our most grievously wounded troops. These service members and their families carry the heaviest burdens of this war and they need all the help they can get,” said Paul Rieckhoff, IAVA Executive Director. “Thanks to improved battlefield medicine, thousands of troops are surviving catastrophic injuries, but they face long and painful recoveries at home. The last thing these wounded heroes should have to worry about is whether the loved one at their bedside is going to lose his or her job.”
One in five severely wounded troops say a family member or friend has been forced to give up a job to care for them. This is true of Annette McLeod, who is featured in the national TV ad campaign IAVA is running this week to demand that Congress and the President improve care for veterans. Mrs. McLeod’s husband, Specialist Wendall McLeod, sustained multiple, life-threatening injuries while serving in Iraq. “When my husband returned home grievously wounded, it ripped my life apart,” said Mrs. McLeod. “I lived in South Carolina, but Wendell was being treated in Washington, DC. After just three months, the human resources department at the factory where I had worked for 20 years said I had exhausted my time off. Being forced to give up my job made a heart-wrenching and difficult time even harder.”
Four Freedoms Message board is closed for a little while... We will be back as soon as we can, I promise. It seems as tho the server... NOT THE BOARD... is being attacked. So, instead of risking our members computers, I chose to close the board for the night.
You got something? post it there... no restrictions...
Love you, miss you.... Raine
1 comments(Latest Comment: 10/16/2007 05:27:44 by livingonli)
YEah... it is that time of year, when I cannot deny my love of the Giants... Even tho I now live in Atlanta, and have been trying to root for the falcons... (I used to call them the FAIL cons before I moved down south...
But I can't... tonite I am rooting for big blue.
Note... I changed the blog title...
At this point I am hearing that the BoSax are down 2-0... I am rooting for the Sox! (Cleveland burns me with their crazy locusts and all...)
Friggin lord of the flies defense... it just ain't right.
50 comments(Latest Comment: 10/16/2007 03:46:51 by livingonli)
Four Freedoms Message board is currently experiencing some strangeness. Please post your particular issues here and we will report it as soon as possible to alleviate the problems.
Sorry guys.
I know it sucks, but I hope you know we are here for all you posting needs! Blog away!
Edit....
I have temporarily taken Four Freedoms offline...
Please feel free to post here.
This really sux. I am sorry guys. As soon as I feel good about getting 4F back up, I will do it. (that sounded dirty, didn't it?)
Edit part duex: (10:36 PM, Monday night) IPB free seems to be under attack. (see inside for more details) The 4F message board will remain offline to prevent our members from this vulnerability.
You can contact the staff at our links sections and we will be creating new blog posts as needed until the board is back up.
26 comments(Latest Comment: 10/16/2007 15:32:10 by Raine)
Why the President won't recognize it and why he is in good company...
Last week the President said the following, regarding the House resolution condemning the deaths of 1.5 Million Armenians as genocide:
"We all deeply regret the tragic suffering of the armenian people that began in 1915. This resolution is not the right response to these historic killings."
Did you know that Ronald Reagan called the Armenian Massacres a genocide? Did you know that in 2000, W did as well? Well they both did. But then, Bush changed his mind. He did it because of politics.
When it comes to genocide, the President is in good company in denying the acknowledgment of human atrocities for political gain.
Exhibit #1)Mahmoud Ahmadinejad... he denies the holocaust exists. Interesting considering the meaning of Iran is ARYAN. Mahmoud knows of this. He knows it as well just as Bush knows that genocide occurred in Armenia... and both leaders know that politically it benefits them to deny the reality of life. (The man might be the Iranian version of Rush Limbaugh.... please stay tuned for further blog posts about this...)
Continue reading...
77 comments(Latest Comment: 10/16/2007 01:08:46 by Raine)
Well, if it's an early Saturday blog, that can only mean one thing...your loyal TriSec is off to donate platelets!
If you're already a blood donor, why not take the next step and head for the pherisis room? In many ways, it's easier than blood donation (at least for me, I used to get lightheaded and have some issues after blood..platelets I just get up and go home.), plus you get to relax on a nice recliner and watch a movie. Tell me more! I can hear you saying...
Giving Platelets or Plasma While all blood donations are vital, pheresis is a specific kind of donation using updated medical technology to collect platelets or plasma from a donor. The remaining blood components, including the red cells, are returned to the donor.
A Single Donor Rather Than Several A platelet transfusion for one patient requires platelets separated from six to eight regular whole blood donations. In pheresis, a single donor can give the quantity of platelets needed for a transfusion. For a patient needing many units of platelets, this means exposure to fewer donors. Additionally, pheresis donations receive a more specific blood typing called HLA typing, so donors and patients can be matched more closely, with a goal of providing better results for the recipient.
Patients' Special Transfusion Needs Patients benefitting the most from pheresis transfusions are those with blood diseases and those being treated for cancer. In the case of cancer patients, platelets are destroyed not only by the disease, but often by the treatment. Patients being prepared for a bone marrow transplant also need many transfusions of platelets, both before and after the transplant.
Give Every Two Weeks Pheresis donors can give platelets every two weeks, plasma every 28 days, as opposed to eight weeks for a whole blood donation. Pheresis donation is by appointment only at donor centers throughout the New England Region. The entire process takes about two hours, including registration, medical history and post-donation refreshments, but many of our pheresis donors come in on a regular basis. Perhaps it's the TLC provided by the nursing staff who come to know them so well. Perhaps it's the movies shown in the donor room or the comraderie between donors as they see each other every couple of weeks. Most likely, it's the feeling of really making a difference in someone's life. With some careful coordination, it is possible to "mix and match" whole blood, platelet and double red cell donations. Please contact your local donor center for more information.
Inquire About Joining the Pheresis Program We invite you to become a part of the pheresis program. Type A donors are especially valuable since they are the "Universal Donor" for platelets. AB donors are universal donors for plasma. If you are a regular blood donor, call your local blood center and ask to speak with someone in the Pheresis Department. They'll welcome your questions, and will make an appointment for you to join this dynamic team of donors.
I'm looking forward to this one more than usual this morning...my donor center is getting new machines that are capable of pulling a "triple" (three units from a single donation), and since I've never given less than a 'double', I'm sure I can keep the nurses happy. As one of them said earlier this year...I'm a platelet factory, must be my calling in life.
Anyway.....
Changing gears, I've been pondering the passing of an old friend over the past few nights. It's shortwave radio.
Good morning folks! It's Friday and the weekend is within our grasp. Last Friday, I posted a rather heavy reflection on our current situation, so this week I am following the lead of the Stephanie Miller Show and providing a Friday Fun Stack.
First, from the web site Bush or Chimp we have this gem:
Prezzie want a banana? :sprint:
Continuing along in the "things are not what they seem" vein, here we have Reagan talking about the virtues of being a *gasp* LIBERAL:
House Democrats pushed their government eavesdropping bill through two committees Wednesday with only minor changes, setting the stage for a confrontation with the Bush administration.
President Bush said that he will not sign the bill if it does not give retroactive immunity to U.S. telecommunications companies that helped conduct electronic surveillance without court orders. [...] The measure advanced by the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees left out the immunity provision Bush wants. Democrats also voted down Republican attempts to tailor the legislation more to the administration's liking.
Good for the Dems. The president and the members of congress must know that they don't work for the president. They work for us. But the real question here is this: Bush has been telling us for years that his spying program was legal.... The phone companies have said it was legal... so why do they need immunity?
Why? Because they all know it isn't. I cannot tell you how disgusted I am that the president would rather protect the interests of corporations over children in this country. AGAIN.
I ask myself, why am I still surprised? When the president and the republican party has people like Rush, Hannity and Malkin (fill in whoever else you want) and all the wonderful folks over at Faux Noise, (not to mention Mitch McConnell) that would rather attack Americans for going against this Republican agenda, it makes it all the more clear to me that we really are heading to becoming a fascist country. These watercarriers for Bush and the republican party have viciously attacked people for their religion, speaking out against the war, their race, their sex, their economic status, their politics, and yet, the President says nothing... but would rather protect and defend companies like AT&T and Blackwater.... well then, who do you think he is really serving? When a company that regular Americans use for basic services such as telephones is used by the government to spy on Americans without a court order... well, that is fascism pure and simple.
Continue reading...
44 comments(Latest Comment: 10/12/2007 03:11:16 by livingonli)