High Crimes and Mis-demeanors

What Else Has Dick Lied About???

2007-08-02T21:56:00.000-07:00

Although Vice President Dick Cheney did admit he was wrong about the Iraq insurgency being "in its last throes" he has been wrong on pretty much on all accounts when it comes to the war in Iraq.

On an interview with CNN's "Larry King Cheney defended President George W. Bush's Iraq policy.

Cheney, known for his secretive ways and rarely one to admit mistakes publicly, said:

"My estimate at the time - and it was wrong, it turned out to be incorrect - was the fact that we were in the midst of holding three elections in Iraq, elected an interim government, then ratifying a constitution, then electing a permanent government, that they had had significant success, we'd rounded up Saddam Hussein.

"I thought there were a series of these milestones that would in fact undermine the insurgency and make it less than it was at that point. That clearly didn't happen. I think the insurgency turned out to be more robust."

In a further blow to Bush's strategy, Iraq's parliament went into summer recess for a month on Monday after political leaders failed to agree on a series of laws that Washington sees as crucial to stabilizing the country.

"It's better than taking two months off, which was their original plan," Cheney said. "I made it clear, for example, when I was there in May that we didn't appreciate the notion that they were going to take a big part of the summer off and they did cut that in half."

It's Nice To Have Friends In Low Places

2007-08-02T07:50:00.001-07:00

US President George W Bush has ordered close adviser Karl Rove not to testify before a Senate hearing on the sacking of eight federal prosecutors.

Mr Bush used the executive privilege he has as president to exempt Mr Rove from having to appear.

This is freaking unbelievable!!! Is there no shame? This is the true version of High Crimes & Misdemeanors!

In Honor of Army Ranger Corporal Pat Tillman

2007-08-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

Specialist Tillman was killed near Manah, Afghanistan on April 22, 2004

4063 U.S. Soldiers have died in the Afghan and Iraq wars as of today.

There have been 7 investigations leading into Tillman's death

The Army announced that it had 6 sanctions against 6 officers

Although the Defense Department reported that he had been killed by enemy combatants, it was later disclosed that Tillman’s death was the result of friendly fire.

Now we have conflict on the way this story is to be reported by our deceptive administration.

Chairman Waxman and Ranking Minority Member Davis sent a letter to the White House objecting to the withholding of documents related to the death of U.S. Army Corporal Patrick Tillman.

Following the Committee’s April 24, 2007, hearing on the Tillman fratricide, the Committee wrote to White House Counsel Fred Fielding seeking “all documents received or generated by any official in the Executive Office of the President” relating to Corporal Tillman’s death. The White House Counsel’s office responded that it would not provide the Committee with documents that “implicate Executive Branch confidentiality interests” and produced only two communications with the officials in the Defense Department, one of which was a package of news clippings. The response of the Defense Department to the Committee’s inquiry was also deficient.

Further more Secretary Rumsfeld testifies that the Department of Defense (DOD) does nothing but uphold the truth to "some three million military, civilian, and contract employees who dedicate their careers to defending our nation, to the military families who endure the extended absences of their fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters, and to the American people, for whom all connected to the Department go to work each day to protect."

Yet how can we take these talking heads seriously when it was proven that the DOD lied about Jessica Lynch. Private Lynch was captured when her convoy became lost in An Nasariyah, Iraq, on March 23, 2003. Following her release, the Defense Department disseminated an account of her capture and rescue that turned out to be inaccurate and misleading. However, Jessica Lynch told a different story during the Oversight Committee Hearings to expose what really happened that fateful day.

We need to stop these liars in command right now and take back our administration.

Administration looks to push through surveillance changes

2007-07-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Bush administration is looking to speed through a “significantly narrowed” group of changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before Congress leaves Washington for its August recess.

You Deserve Neither Liberty or Security

2007-07-30T21:02:00.001-07:00

Surveillance Cameras Win Broad Support. Does not anyone remember the quote from Ben Franklin???

ANALYSIS by MICHELLE LIRTZMAN
July 29, 2007

Whoops, you got punk'ed by Apple...

2007-07-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

I just love when there is such mass media hysteria for a gadget that has not been fully tested within the public domain and the suckers that buy into this frenzy and spend $600.00 for a device that can be hacked in a matter of minutes.

Ofcource Apple claims no security breach has been detected, but are you willing to be the first kid on the block to lose all your personal info in a matter of seconds to a would be crook of identity?

Apple’s iPhone Has Serious Security Flaw

by Max Brenn 13:08, July 23rd 2007

A computer experts group including a former NSA employee has warned Apple of a serious security flaw that affects the company’s latest gadget, which could totally compromise the data contained inside the phone.

Independent Security Evaluators, a security research firm from Baltimore founded by Johns Hopkins University professor Avi Rubin (but not associated with the University), includes several Ph.D.s in Computer Science and in Math, as well as Masters degrees in computer science and security informatics. ISE security analysts have backgrounds that include academia, industry, as well as former employees of the National Security Agency.

With such outstanding academic background it’s no wonder that ISE experts have managed to bypass iPhone’s thoroughly tested security modules. They were able to gain control over the Apple iPhone, using a connection to a Wi-Fi network, by luring a user to access a bogus Web page that contained malware.

Charles Miller, the principal security analyst for the firm, admitted though that Apple’s efforts to make the iPhone a secure environment are quite impressive, but "once you did manage to find a hole, you were in complete control."

ISE has warned the Cupertino, CA-based giant of the vulnerability and also proposed a software patch that could prevent further attacks.

Apple found no evidence that the glitch has been exploited by other people than those at ISE and also informed that no similar vulnerabilities have been signaled until now.

Miller is a former National Security Agency employee with a doctorate in computer science. To demonstrate the hack in front of a NY Times reporter he used a fake Web page of his own creation, which, when accessed through the iPhone, infected the gadget with malicious code that later allowed full control over it.

The phone promptly followed instructions to transmit text message files, telephone contacts and e-mail addresses to the attacking computer.

They're Watching

2007-07-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

If you read this piece we'll have to kill you.

If you've traveled abroad recently, you've been investigated. You've been assigned a score indicating what kind of terrorist threat you pose. That score is used by the government to determine the treatment you receive when you return to the U.S. and for other purposes as well.

Curious about your score? You can't see it. Interested in what information was used? You can't know that. Want to clear your name if you've been wrongly categorized? You can't challenge it. Want to know what kind of rules the computer is using to judge you? That's secret, too. So is when and how the score will be used.

U.S. customs agencies have been quietly operating this system for several years. Called Automated Targeting System, it assigns a "risk assessment" score to people entering or leaving the country, or engaging in import or export activity. This score, and the information used to derive it, can be shared with federal, state, local and even foreign governments. It can be used if you apply for a government job, grant, license, contract or other benefit. It can be shared with nongovernmental organizations and individuals in the course of an investigation. In some circumstances private contractors can get it, even those outside the country. And it will be saved for 40 years.

Little is known about this program. Its bare outlines were disclosed in the Federal Register in October. We do know that the score is partially based on details of your flight record--where you're from, how you bought your ticket, where you're sitting, any special meal requests--or on motor vehicle records, as well as on information from crime, watch-list and other databases.

Civil liberties groups have called the program Kafkaesque. But I have an even bigger problem with it. It's a waste of money.

The idea of feeding a limited set of characteristics into a computer, which then somehow divines a person's terrorist leanings, is farcical. Uncovering terrorist plots requires intelligence and investigation, not large-scale processing of everyone.

Additionally, any system like this will generate so many false alarms as to be completely unusable. In 2005 Customs & Border Protection processed 431 million people. Assuming an unrealistic model that identifies terrorists (and innocents) with 99.9% accuracy, that's still 431,000 false alarms annually.

The number of false alarms will be much higher than that. The no-fly list is filled with inaccuracies; we've all read about innocent people named David Nelson who can't fly without hours-long harassment. Airline data, too, are riddled with errors.

The odds of this program's being implemented securely, with adequate privacy protections, are not good. Last year I participated in a government working group to assess the security and privacy of a similar program developed by the Transportation Security Administration, called Secure Flight. After five years and $100 million spent, the program still can't achieve the simple task of matching airline passengers against terrorist watch lists.

In 2002 we learned about yet another program, called Total Information Awareness, for which the government would collect information on every American and assign him or her a terrorist risk score. Congress found the idea so abhorrent that it halted funding for the program. Two years ago, and again this year, Secure Flight was also banned by Congress until it could pass a series of tests for accuracy and privacy protection.

In fact, the Automated Targeting System is arguably illegal, as well (a point several congressmen have made recently); all recent Department of Homeland Security appropriations bills specifically prohibit the department from using profiling systems against persons not on a watch list.

There is something un-American about a government program that uses secret criteria to collect dossiers on innocent people and shares that information with various agencies, all without any oversight. It's the sort of thing you'd expect from the former Soviet Union or East Germany or China. And it doesn't make us any safer from terrorism.

Bruce Schneier, Chief Technology Officer of BT Counterpane, which manages security for corporate clients.

Did You Know Your New Passport Can Help Track You?

2007-07-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

RFID Passports
Since the terrorist attacks of 2001, the Bush administration--specifically, the Department of Homeland Security--has wanted the world to agree on a standard for machine-readable passports. Countries whose citizens currently do not have visa requirements to enter the United States will have to issue passports that conform to the standard or risk losing their nonvisa status.
These future passports, currently being tested, will include an embedded computer chip. This chip will allow the passport to contain much more information than a simple machine-readable character font, and will allow passport officials to quickly and easily read that information. That is a reasonable requirement and a good idea for bringing passport technology into the 21st century.
But the Bush administration is advocating radio frequency identification (RFID) chips for both U.S. and foreign passports, and that's a very bad thing.
These chips are like smart cards, but they can be read from a distance. A receiving device can "talk" to the chip remotely, without any need for physical contact, and get whatever information is on it. Passport officials envision being able to download the information on the chip simply by bringing it within a few centimeters of an electronic reader.
Unfortunately, RFID chips can be read by any reader, not just the ones at passport control. The upshot of this is that travelers carrying around RFID passports are broadcasting their identity.
Think about what that means for a minute. It means that passport holders are continuously broadcasting their name, nationality, age, address and whatever else is on the RFID chip. It means that anyone with a reader can learn that information, without the passport holder's knowledge or consent. It means that pickpockets, kidnappers and terrorists can easily--and surreptitiously--pick Americans or nationals of other participating countries out of a crowd.
It is a clear threat to both privacy and personal safety, and quite simply, that is why it is bad idea. Proponents of the system claim that the chips can be read only from within a distance of a few centimeters, so there is no potential for abuse. This is a spectacularly naïve claim. All wireless protocols can work at much longer ranges than specified. In tests, RFID chips have been read by receivers 20 meters away. Improvements in technology are inevitable.
Security is always a trade-off. If the benefits of RFID outweighed the risks, then maybe it would be worth it. Certainly, there isn't a significant benefit when people present their passport to a customs official. If that customs official is going to take the passport and bring it near a reader, why can't he go those extra few centimeters that a contact chip--one the reader must actually touch--would require?
The Bush administration is deliberately choosing a less secure technology without justification. If there were a good offsetting reason to choose that technology over a contact chip, then the choice might make sense.
Unfortunately, there is only one possible reason: The administration wants surreptitious access themselves. It wants to be able to identify people in crowds. It wants to surreptitiously pick out the Americans, and pick out the foreigners. It wants to do the very thing that it insists, despite demonstrations to the contrary, can't be done.
Normally I am very careful before I ascribe such sinister motives to a government agency. Incompetence is the norm, and malevolence is much rarer. But this seems like a clear case of the Bush administration putting its own interests above the security and privacy of its citizens, and then lying about it.

Emperor Bush said he could act without warrants under wartime powers against U.S. Citizens...

2007-07-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

For the love of GOD! For those of you who still get a warm fuzzing feeling iside when it comes to your voting for this sico-fantic meglomaniac, I HOPE YOUR HAPPY!!! Not only have you unleashed this freak of nature upon your own citizens, including your next door neighbor, but you also *&%$#@ for yourself as well. Hmm, it's beginning to sound alot like hitler in springtime.

If you really believe and your one of those folks who say "Well, if you got nothing to hide then what's the problem with Big Brother using a mini-cam up your pooper extracting information" then the U.S. Consitution was NOT written for you. And our forefathers died for nothing you sick bastards!

WAKE UP AND REALIZE WHAT BULL@HIT THIS ADMINISTRATION IS SLOWING DOING TO YOU!

Reference article captured today

Saudis prepare to behead teenage maid

2007-07-16T23:09:00.000-07:00

The imminent execution of a teenage maid in Saudi Arabia drew fierce criticism yesterday and provoked condemnation of the kingdom's prolific use of capital punishment.

2007-07-16T23:04:00.000-07:00

Democrats block amendment to prevent Fairness Doctrine

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Democrats on Friday blocked an amendment that would have prevented the return of the Fairness Doctrine, a federal rule which required broadcasters to air opposing views on issues.

Bush takes a dump on our kids... Child Health Insurance Bill Faces Veto

2007-07-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

Members of the Senate Finance Committee brokered a bipartisan agreement Friday that would add $35 billion to the program over the next five years. The Bush administration had instead recommend $5 billion.

Has Our Public Confidence in Our Administration Been Undermined?

2007-07-15T17:25:00.000-07:00

Judicial Watch Statement on President Bush’s Decision to Grant Executive Clemency to I. Lewis “Scooter”Libby

In Stead of the Mormons at your door, it's the Marines...

2007-07-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

Newsmax
Friday, Nov. 21, 2003

Gen. Tommy Franks says that if the United States is hit with a weapon of mass destruction that inflicts large casualties, the Constitution will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government.

Franks, who successfully led the U.S. military operation to liberate Iraq, expressed his worries in an extensive interview he gave to the men's lifestyle magazine Cigar Aficionado.

In the magazine's December edition, the former commander of the military's Central Command warned that if terrorists succeeded in using a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) against the U.S. or one of our allies, it would likely have catastrophic consequences for our cherished republican form of government.

Discussing the hypothetical dangers posed to the U.S. in the wake of Sept. 11, Franks said that “the worst thing that could happen” is if terrorists acquire and then use a biological, chemical or nuclear weapon that inflicts heavy casualties.

If that happens, Franks said, “... the Western world, the free world, loses what it cherishes most, and that is freedom and liberty we've seen for a couple of hundred years in this grand experiment that we call democracy.”

Franks then offered “in a practical sense” what he thinks would happen in the aftermath of such an attack.

“It means the potential of a weapon of mass destruction and a terrorist, massive, casualty-producing event somewhere in the Western world – it may be in the United States of America – that causes our population to question our own Constitution and to begin to militarize our country in order to avoid a repeat of another mass, casualty-producing event. Which in fact, then begins to unravel the fabric of our Constitution. Two steps, very, very important.”

Franks didn't speculate about how soon such an event might take place.

Already, critics of the U.S. Patriot Act, rushed through Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, have argued that the law aims to curtail civil liberties and sets a dangerous precedent.

But Franks' scenario goes much further. He is the first high-ranking official to openly speculate that the Constitution could be scrapped in favor of a military form of government.

The usually camera-shy Franks retired from U.S. Central Command, known in Pentagon lingo as CentCom, in August 2003, after serving nearly four decades in the Army.

Franks earned three Purple Hearts for combat wounds and three Bronze Stars for valor. Known as a “soldier's general,” Franks made his mark as a top commander during the U.S.'s successful Operation Desert Storm, which liberated Kuwait in 1991. He was in charge of CentCom when Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda attacked the United States on Sept. 11.

Franks said that within hours of the attacks, he was given orders to prepare to root out the Taliban in Afghanistan and to capture bin Laden.

Franks offered his assessment on a number of topics to Cigar Aficionado, including:

President Bush: “As I look at President Bush, I think he will ultimately be judged as a man of extremely high character. A very thoughtful man, not having been appraised properly by those who would say he's not very smart. I find the contrary. I think he's very, very bright. And I suspect that he'll be judged as a man who led this country through a crease in history effectively. Probably we'll think of him in years to come as an American hero.”

On the motivation for the Iraq war: Contrary to claims that top Pentagon brass opposed the invasion of Iraq, Franks said he wholeheartedly agreed with the president's decision to invade Iraq and oust Saddam Hussein.

“I, for one, begin with intent. ... There is no question that Saddam Hussein had intent to do harm to the Western alliance and to the United States of America. That intent is confirmed in a great many of his speeches, his commentary, the words that have come out of the Iraqi regime over the last dozen or so years. So we have intent.

“If we know for sure ... that a regime has intent to do harm to this country, and if we have something beyond a reasonable doubt that this particular regime may have the wherewithal with which to execute the intent, what are our actions and orders as leaders in this country?”

The Pentagon's deck of cards: Asked how the Pentagon decided to put its most-wanted Iraqis on a set of playing cards, Franks explained its genesis. He recalled that when his staff identified the most notorious Iraqis the U.S. wanted to capture, “it just turned out that the number happened to be about the same as a deck of cards. And so somebody said, ‘Aha, this will be the ace of spades.'”

Capturing Saddam: Franks said he was not surprised that Saddam has not been captured or killed. But he says he will eventually be found, perhaps sooner than Osama bin laden.

“The capture or killing of Saddam Hussein will be a near term thing. And I won't say that'll be within 19 or 43 days. ... I believe it is inevitable.”

Franks ended his interview with a less-than-optimistic note. “It's not in the history of civilization for peace ever to reign. Never has in the history of man. ... I doubt that we'll ever have a time when the world will actually be at peace.”

Nothing like an Orwellian State...

2007-07-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

Bush defends spying at home, calls it terror surveillance...
That is because the program bypasses a special federal court that, by law, must authorize eavesdropping on Americans; and because the president provided only limited notification to a few lawmakers.

Shaken Baby Syndrome... The Vaccination Link

2007-07-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

Many infants who suffer the so-called 'shaken baby syndrome' may be victims of undiagnosed vaccine damage.

How Do You Feel About Eating Cloned Meat?

2007-07-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

We should farm cloned animals says Dolly expert

No Place You can Run...

2007-07-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

Police to use helmet cams to record public order incidents

NYC Surveillance Plan Raises Privacy Concerns

2007-07-15T12:39:00.000-07:00

New York City's proposed surveillance system, which already is raising concern among privacy and security experts, would be the first in the United States to feed images from networked cameras to a central surveillance facility. The first 115 surveillance cameras are scheduled to be in place in lower Manhattan by the end of 2007. Don't you just love big brother?

I want to know from you, how much is enough security before it becomes an intrusion on your privacy?

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 - 1790)

Googlers applaud GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul

2007-07-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

Googlers applaud GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul
WEB-PHENOM CANDIDATE AIRS LIBERTARIAN VIEWS
By Mary Anne Ostrom
Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News

Ron Paul, the Texas GOP congressman and long-shot candidate for president, credits a rabid Internet following with spreading his staunch libertarian and anti-war message into the mainstream media.

Extra, Extra...US House votes for troop pullout

2007-07-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

The United States House of Representatives has voted in favour of pulling most combat troops out of Iraq by April next year. Friday, 13 July 2007, 03:48 GMT 04:48 UK - BBC News 24

Barbara Boxer: "This Is As Close As We've Ever Come To A Dictatorship"

2007-07-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

Barbara Boxer: Impeachment "Should Be On The Table. This Is As Close As We've Ever Come To A Dictatorship"
Submitted by JonathanSchwarz on Thu, 2007-07-12

Does not look good for Giuliani...

2007-07-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

Firefighters Rip Giuliani, Call Him "Urban Legend"

(CBS) NEW YORK The International Association of Firefighters has gone on the offensive against "America's Mayor" Rudy Giuliani, releasing a 13-minute video that viciously rips into the former New York mayor, who has been using his leadership demonstrated on September 11th to urge people around the country to support him in his quest to become President of the United States.

Our Own FBI Has Lied Again...

2007-07-15T04:53:00.001-07:00

As the name of my blog is "High Crimes and Misdemeanors", I will be focusing on the just that. I believe its time to make our government and bodies of our government more accountable to its people of this great nation, not the people accountable to the government.

So without any further ado, I present to you my first story of this blog.

FBI lied to get ISPs to turn over data. If this does not make you concerned, then nothing will.

Never fear though, as I will have plenty more material and write-ups as they present themselves. And baby, the way our current administration is heading, I will have plenty to talk about and share with you.

One important point I must express to you in all seriousness. The material you will read here will not be hearsay, or my beliefs or even speculation. The material I will present to you will come from sources thought to be reliable, meaning I will not rely on Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reily or the Sean Hannity's of this world for unbiased news. These are not journalist, but hacks who push an agenda not fully accepted by the general masses, thank god! Though I cannot promise the validity of its reporting I can say it will be close to the truth. You decide. And the worse that could happen from all this? At least you thought about it or maybe even told a close friend.

My goal, and I strongly believe that all of us should have a goal in life, is to bring to light those that represent us in the shadows. When I say those that represent us, I mean our current administration and those departments attached to it.

This blog is dedicated to my son, Michelangelo.

It's 3:25 in the A.M.

2007-07-15T03:26:00.000-07:00

I'm starting my very own blog. First, what the F*ck am I doing up at this hour? I should be in bed like all the other sane people. But that, my friend is the problem. I cannot sleep.
As I look over on the couch observing my 3 year old son huddled in the fetal position in a calm sleep, I can only imagine what his dreams can be. What does a 3 year old dream about? Maybe he's reciting his ABC's or going over his 123 flash cards that my wife and I bought him at Costco today.
By the way, not to get off tangent, but should you happen to be on your way to Costco in Garden Grove, CA anytime soon, do yourself a favor. Go somewhere else. I mean these people that shop at this location must have left their brain on the end table in their home before leaving. These people have to be the most rudest SOB's gathered under one roof.
Now don't get me wrong. I love Asians, hell, I'm married to a traditional Filipino. I stress the word traditional. Maybe it's the weather, maybe its the smell of fresh pallets at Costco, maybe its the smell of the expiration date of the free samples they hand out to their unsuspecting members, then again maybe its because these people come from a country that's overcrowded and not being rude would ruin their day.
All I ask is this... Member's of Garden Grove Costco...When you see something you like from the middle aisle that your pushing your whole family from a cart from, don't stop suddenly in the middle of the aisle and gawk! Causing a 5 cart pile-up from behind much worse than the 405 freeway at rush hour. Or get at the register, pay for your s*it, start your way towards the exit door in the middle of heavy foot traffic, and suddenly STOP! What happened? Did your motor functions for a brief second forget to get the memo from your brain that its not cool to stop suddenly when other people are directly behind wanting to get the hell out faster than you do? For the love of GOD, stop it. Have some common decency for your fellow Costco patrons.