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Index for this page...(Be aware some links below may have expired.)
All The Following Items Were Posted On April 1, 2004 Police-State "Total Information Awareness" Program Lives On Privacy-minded citizens cheered last fall when Congress, in response to huge public protest, eliminated the creepy "Terrorist Information Awareness" (TIA) scheme for high-tech spying on citizens. However, they celebrated too soon. For all practical purposes, the police-state TIA program (originally known as "Total Information Awareness") is alive, well, and growing. "Despite an outcry over privacy implications, the government is pressing ahead with research to create powerful tools to mine millions of public and private records for information about terrorists," reported Associated Press in late February. Some TIA projects were simply transferred to U.S. intelligence offices, where work on them continues. Furthermore, Congress quietly left alone what Associated Press describes as "a separate but similar $64 million research program run by a little-known office called the Advanced Research and Development Activity, or ARDA, that has used some of the same researchers as [TIA]." Some of TIA's most controversial programs are among those still being researched and developed, AP further states. "The whole congressional action [defunding TIA] looks like a shell game," said Steve Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, which tracks work by U.S. intelligence agencies. "There may be enough of a difference for them to claim TIA was terminated -- while for all practical purposes the identical work is continuing." As reported in past issues of The Liberator Online, the stated goal of TIA was to predict terrorist attacks by giving the federal government vast new powers and technology to assemble and comb massive databases of deeply private and personal data, including such things as passport applications, visas, work permits, Internet use, driver's licenses, car rentals, airline ticket purchases, credit transactions, and education, medical and housing records. The ACLU said TIA "may be the closest thing to a true "Big Brother" program that has ever been seriously contemplated in the United States." The organization's almost absurdly sinister logo -- a giant eye atop a pyramid surveying the entire earth with a sci-fi blast of light, accompanied by the Latin phrase "knowledge is power" -- perfectly symbolized the 1984-ish nature of the scheme. In addition to privacy concerns, TIA raised fears that many innocent Americans would face accusations due to research errors. Even TIA's researchers admitted that TIA's massive and invasive research could put huge numbers of utterly innocent American under suspicion and surveillance. Congress has said that the fruits of current TIA-related research can only be used overseas or against non-U.S. citizens in this country -- for now, anyway. However, given the expansive nature of government programs, and the secrecy surrounding this kind of research, no one can really be sure how long -- if at all -- such a restriction will be obeyed. Privacy advocates also fear that, once these kinds of high-powered spy tools are developed, they will quickly and eagerly be used by other government agencies for non-terrorist-related matters, further eroding privacy and liberty. Source: Associated Press / The Daily Herald: http://www.harktheherald.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=14894 (Thanks to James W. Harris of the Advocates for Self-Government and The Liberator Online for the above information. If you would like a free subscription to the Liberator Online, visit: http://www.self-gov.org/liberator/maintain.html.)
Al-Qaida Targeting U.S. Shopping Malls, 'Soft Targets' U.S. intelligence officials believe that al-Qaida is currently targeting "soft targets," including shopping malls and shopping centers across the United States. "I can confirm to you they are focusing in on them, they are keying in on them, we know it for a fact," a high-level CIA source told NewsMax editor Christopher Ruddy this past week in Washington. The source said that terrorist cells here in the U.S. are clearly looking to make a "spectacular" attack - and shopping malls are one avenue they are considering because, as the source told NewsMax, "they are easy to attack, and you can score high casualties." Both the CIA source and another person close to high-ranking U.S. security officials agreed that any attacks made this year would be intended to score political points before the November elections. These warnings about al-Qaida were made to NewsMax shortly before FBI Director Robert Mueller's public comments to Congress last week in which he said that al-Qaida may try to strike in an effort to influence the U.S. elections. Mueller's remarks clearly underscore the administration's worry that a small-scale, high-profile attack would demonstrate that the Bush administration has not made the U.S. homeland safer. Also, such an attack might buttress claims by John Kerry and others that the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq has not improved U.S. security. NewsMax's second source put it this way: "Whatever they do, it will be planned to help Kerry and hurt Bush." He also added that al-Qaida remains "fascinated" by the concept of attacking U.S. commercial aircraft, though new attacks may not mimic the hijackings of Sept. 11. Source: Insider Report from NewsMax.com (If you are not an e-mail subscriber, get Insider Report and other breaking news alerts by Clicking Here.)
Pentagon Launches Propaganda "News" Service U.S. government officials and the Pentagon have long complained that U.S. media coverage of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is biased and unbalanced. So they've decided to fix the problem -- by launching the Pentagon's own news service, to bypass the civilian media (also known as "the free press") entirely. The American public "currently gets a pretty slanted picture," Army Capt. Randall Baucom, a spokesman for the Kuwait-based U.S.-led Coalition Land Forces Command, told Associated Press (presumably one of those biased U.S. news services). "We want them to get an opportunity to see the facts as they exist, instead of getting information from people who aren't on the scene." So starting in April, the Pentagon plans to send military video, photos and text from war sites directly to the Internet and to news outlets. At $6.3 million, the project, called Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS) is one of the largest military "public affairs" (i.e., propaganda) projects of recent years. U.S. officials charge that the non-government media focus unduly on catastrophic events like car bombs and soldiers' deaths, while not paying sufficient attention to the military's efforts to rebuild the countries it bombed and invaded. DVIDS is intended to "balance" that. DVIDS will also let the Pentagon provide hand-picked photos, footage and stories to the media concerning events from which the military has barred the civilian media from covering -- thus giving the government virtually total control over coverage of such events. "We have an unfair advantage," Baucom said. "We're going to be able to get closer to the incident and provide better spokespeople to give the right information. The important thing is that we provide the public with accurate information." Critics, however, note that the Pentagon is not renowned for providing "accurate information" about controversial military events. Many view this as simply the latest move in an increasing effort by the military to censor and control civilian press coverage. "The Army wants to get their view across and they are using a technique as old as any public relations maneuver ever devised," Aly Colon of the Poynter Institute, a journalism research and education center, told Associated Press. "I would view the Army's decision, in the same way that I would view OPEC creating a communications system to help the American public understand what it means when prices go up," Colon said. "This is the kind of news that people get in countries where the government controls the media. Why would anybody here want to buy into it?" Mac McKerral, president of the Society of Professional Journalists, told Associated Press. DVIDS will put a lot of their effort into providing locally focused stories to small and medium-sized newspapers and TV stations in the U.S. The local angle -- and the zero cost -- are intended to make the stories attractive to such media, and the result is expected to be a vast increase in positive coverage of war-related matters -- a major propaganda coup. "There are numerous good news stories that aren't told that do provide a better balance on the overall successes we achieved in Iraq," he said. "We'll be able to provide the option for those types of stories. They're not going to lead in a major daily newspaper, but they'll play well in smaller daily papers and especially weekly papers." Source: Associated Press - http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=1675781 (Thanks to James W. Harris of the Advocates for Self-Government and The Liberator Online for the above information. If you would like a free subscription to the Liberator Online, visit: http://www.self-gov.org/liberator/maintain.html.)
Thought You'd Like To Know: Surprising Virtues of Vodka Note: The following information is provided as given to us and has not been approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Oregon State Liquor Control Board, the World Health Organization, or any of the thousands of other governmental agencies who are constantly trying to protect us from ourselves. Use the information at your own risk. 1. To remove a bandage painlessly, saturate the bandage with vodka. The solvent dissolves the adhesive. 2. To clean the caulking around bathtubs and showers, fill a trigger-spray bottle with vodka, spray the caulking, let set five minutes and wash clean. The alcohol in the vodka kills mold and mildew. 3. To clean your eyeglasses, simply wipe the lenses with a soft, clean cloth dampened with vodka. The alcohol in the vodka cleans the glass and kills germs. 4. Prolong the life of razors by filling a cup with vodka and letting your safety razor soak in the alcohol after shaving. The vodka disinfects the blade and prevents rusting. 5. Spray vodka on vomit stains, scrub with a brush, then blot dry. 6. Using a cotton ball, apply vodka to your face as an astringent to cleanse the skin and tighten pores. 7. Add a jigger of vodka to a 12-ounce bottle of shampoo. The alcohol cleanses the scalp, removes toxins from hair, and stimulates the growth of healthy hair. 8. Fill a 16-ounce trigger-spray bottle with vodka and spray bees or wasps to kill them. 9. Pour 1/2 cup vodka and 1/2 cup water in a Ziplock freezer bag and freeze for a slushy, refreshable ice pack for aches, pain, or black eyes. 10. Fill a clean, used mayonnaise jar with freshly packed lavender flowers, fill the jar with vodka, seal the lid tightly and set in the sun for three days. Strain liquid through a coffee filter, then apply the tincture to aches and pains. 11. Using a Q-tip, apply vodka to a cold sore to help it dry out. 12. If a blister opens, pour vodka over the raw skin as a local anesthetic that also disinfects the exposed dermis. 13. To cure foot odor, wash your feet with vodka. 14. To treat an earache, put a few drops of vodka in your ear. Let set for a few minutes. Then drain. The vodka will kill the bacteria that is causing pain in your ear. 15. To relieve a fever, use a washcloth to rub vodka on your chest and back as a liniment. 16. Vodka will disinfect and alleviate a jellyfish sting. 17. Pour vodka over an area affected with poison ivy to remove the urushiol oil from your skin. 18. Swish a shot of vodka over an aching tooth. Allow you gums to absorb some of the alcohol to numb the pain. And finally, 19. If all else fails, just turn the bottle of vodka up and drink it. Nothing will matter anymore anyway! (Thanks to the manager of our local liquor and jewelry store for the above information.)
"Government cannot make man richer, but it can make him poorer." -- Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973)
Some interesting & provocative articles on other websites Bountiful Nonsense, by Gene Callahan: One of the most dangerous intellectual currents of the last several centuries has been the project to deny any importance to consciousness in scientific and philosophical thought, through a relentless insistence on materialist, reductionist explanations for all human activities. Veni, vidi, veggie...,by Tom Leonard: Roman gladiators were overweight vegetarians who lived on barley and beans, according to a scientific study of the largest gladiator graveyard discovered. Catholic Charities' Passion, by Christopher Westley: In less than a week following the long-anticipated release of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, the Supreme Court of California issued a ruling against Catholic Charities of California requiring it to provide abortifacients (such as birth control pills), a practice which Catholics consider to be a mortal sin, in exchange for its receiving public funding. Crossing the threshold, by Harvey A. Silverglate and Carl Takei: While we're all fretting over the Patriot Act, John Ashcroft's Justice Department is after much bigger game. Why They Hate the Market, by Art Carden: It is always the fashion among many intellectuals to blame society's ills on the free market. One publication argued that the market is "The god That Sucked." The course summaries in my university's catalog, the themes of the lecture series, and the editorial content of the student newspapers suggest that many students and faculty would agree. What the Martha Stewart Case Means to You, by Harry Browne: The Martha Stewart guilty verdict is more than troubling. It is an outrage. The very case itself typifies today's government - an entity that is free to intrude in any area of your life, free to make up the rules as it goes along, free to allow prosecutors to make names for themselves in high-profile cases without facing any personal consequences, no matter what harm they do. Letting leftists write our dictionary and reinvent our grammar, by Bruce Walker: Leftism has largely won the battle of language. The campaign was long waged by old communists like Marx, Lenin and Stalin. George Orwell grasped that crucial fact. His masterpiece, 1984, in which "War is peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength" and in his allegorical tale, Animal Farm, in which "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." The Revolution's Forgotten Hero, by David A. Merrick: On December 15, an anniversary will come and go with little or no fanfare. It will probably pass unnoticed, even though it is the anniversary of one of the greatest events in the history of written law. The Boy Scouts in the cross hairs, by Rich Lowry: Are courtesy and cheerfulness religious tenets? Is building a campfire a sacred rite? Is a neckerchief the equivalent of a priest's stole? Give Them Your Name and Give Up Your Rights, by Brian Doherty: One man parked on the side of the road in Humboldt County, Nevada, in May 2000 was brave enough to say no to a police officer when ordered to identify himself. Beware Idiots, Madmen, and Lunatics, by Harry Goslin: As any thinking American knows, nothing has done more to destroy Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures than the War on Drugs. Culture fight could endanger freedoms, by Paul M. Weyrich: If stations can be shut down for the garbage spewed by Stern, what happens when President Hillary advocates, and gets passed a liberal Congress, legislation which allows complaints to be filed for hate speech. The War on Doctors, by Paul Krassner: Prescribe Tylenol codeine? Expect the SWAT team. Lards And Stripes - Fat people made America great, and America makes great people fat, by Nick Gillespie: A skinnier America may be a healthier America. It will almost certainly a more attractive America. But if it comes into existence through politics rather than individual initiative and restraint, it will diminish America in ways that no way bathroom scale could ever calculate. George Bush, Lying, & the Dogs of War, by Harry Browne: Before the Iraqi war, the Bush administration cried "Havoc!" and used a number of lies to justify setting the dogs of war loose. The non-existent weapons of mass destruction and the phony uranium purchases from Niger weren't the only falsehoods. "I Don't Remember," by Jacob G. Hornberger: Former U.S. Counterterrorism Chief Richard A. Clarke states that after he told President Bush at a meeting the day after 9/11 that al-Qaeda was responsible for the attacks, Bush responded... Repeal every law enacted since 1912, by Vin Suprynowicz: For starters, we could reduce our prison populations by about two-thirds simply by retroactively repealing every law enacted since 1912. Face the Fetus - It's time for abortion rights advocates to stop denying reality, by William Saletan: How long can supporters of abortion rights go on denying the distinct legal significance of unborn human life? Not any longer, if they want to save Roe v. Wade.
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