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Bring back the short-arm inspection!

Here is a prime example of what I just wrote in another thread. Why was a UK paper the first to break this story? Answer: Because our papers are not doing their jobs. How many more freedoms shall we give up before realizing what is happening and taking the Congress and Executive branch to task? I fear this will not happen. Best regards, RA1

I had a comment to make about Bevis and Butthead but given that people have brought family into it i'll just sum it by one word: vile.

When including the English series, We must not forget Yes, Minister & Yes, Prime Minister.

Boggles belief. NSA collecting phone records of millions of Verizon customers daily Exclusive: Top secret court order requiring Verizon to hand over all call data shows scale of domestic surveillance under Obama Glenn Greenwald The Guardian, Wednesday 5 June 2013 • Read the Verizon court order in full here Under the terms of the order, the numbers of both parties on a call are handed over, as is location data and the time and duration of all calls. Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP The National Security Agency is currently collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon, one of America's largest telecoms providers, under a top secret court order issued in April. The order, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, requires Verizon on an "ongoing, daily basis" to give the NSA information on all telephone calls in its systems, both within the US and between the US and other countries. The document shows for the first time that under the Obama administration the communication records of millions of US citizens are being collected indiscriminately and in bulk – regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing. The secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (Fisa) granted the order to the FBI on April 25, giving the government unlimited authority to obtain the data for a specified three-month period ending on July 19. Under the terms of the blanket order, the numbers of both parties on a call are handed over, as is location data, call duration, unique identifiers, and the time and duration of all calls. The contents of the conversation itself are not covered. The disclosure is likely to reignite longstanding debates in the US over the proper extent of the government's domestic spying powers. Under the Bush administration, officials in security agencies had disclosed to reporters the large-scale collection of call records data by the NSA, but this is the first time significant and top-secret documents have revealed the continuation of the practice on a massive scale under President Obama. The unlimited nature of the records being handed over to the NSA is extremely unusual. Fisa court orders typically direct the production of records pertaining to a specific named target who is suspected of being an agent of a terrorist group or foreign state, or a finite set of individually named targets. The Guardian approached the National Security Agency, the White House and the Department of Justice for comment in advance of publication on Wednesday. All declined. The agencies were also offered the opportunity to raise specific security concerns regarding the publication of the court order. The court order expressly bars Verizon from disclosing to the public either the existence of the FBI's request for its customers' records, or the court order itself. "We decline comment," said Ed McFadden, a Washington-based Verizon spokesman. The order, signed by Judge Roger Vinson, compels Verizon to produce to the NSA electronic copies of "all call detail records or 'telephony metadata' created by Verizon for communications between the United States and abroad" or "wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls". The order directs Verizon to "continue production on an ongoing daily basis thereafter for the duration of this order". It specifies that the records to be produced include "session identifying information", such as "originating and terminating number", the duration of each call, telephone calling card numbers, trunk identifiers, International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number, and "comprehensive communication routing information". The information is classed as "metadata", or transactional information, rather than communications, and so does not require individual warrants to access. The document also specifies that such "metadata" is not limited to the aforementioned items. A 2005 court ruling judged that cell site location data – the nearest cell tower a phone was connected to – was also transactional data, and so could potentially fall under the scope of the order. While the order itself does not include either the contents of messages or the personal information of the subscriber of any particular cell number, its collection would allow the NSA to build easily a comprehensive picture of who any individual contacted, how and when, and possibly from where, retrospectively. It is not known whether Verizon is the only cell-phone provider to be targeted with such an order, although previous reporting has suggested the NSA has collected cell records from all major mobile networks. It is also unclear from the leaked document whether the three-month order was a one-off, or the latest in a series of similar orders. The court order appears to explain the numerous cryptic public warnings by two US senators, Ron Wyden and Mark Udall, about the scope of the Obama administration's surveillance activities. For roughly two years, the two Democrats have been stridently advising the public that the US government is relying on "secret legal interpretations" to claim surveillance powers so broad that the American public would be "stunned" to learn of the kind of domestic spying being conducted. Because those activities are classified, the senators, both members of the Senate intelligence committee, have been prevented from specifying which domestic surveillance programs they find so alarming. But the information they have been able to disclose in their public warnings perfectly tracks both the specific law cited by the April 25 court order as well as the vast scope of record-gathering it authorized. Julian Sanchez, a surveillance expert with the Cato Institute, explained: "We've certainly seen the government increasingly strain the bounds of 'relevance' to collect large numbers of records at once — everyone at one or two degrees of separation from a target — but vacuuming all metadata up indiscriminately would be an extraordinary repudiation of any pretence of constraint or particularized suspicion." The April order requested by the FBI and NSA does precisely that. The law on which the order explicitly relies is the so-called "business records" provision of the Patriot Act, 50 USC section 1861. That is the provision which Wyden and Udall have repeatedly cited when warning the public of what they believe is the Obama administration's extreme interpretation of the law to engage in excessive domestic surveillance. In a letter to attorney general Eric Holder last year, they argued that "there is now a significant gap between what most Americans think the law allows and what the government secretly claims the law allows." "We believe," they wrote, "that most Americans would be stunned to learn the details of how these secret court opinions have interpreted" the "business records" provision of the Patriot Act. Privacy advocates have long warned that allowing the government to collect and store unlimited "metadata" is a highly invasive form of surveillance of citizens' communications activities. Those records enable the government to know the identity of every person with whom an individual communicates electronically, how long they spoke, and their location at the time of the communication. Such metadata is what the US government has long attempted to obtain in order to discover an individual's network of associations and communication patterns. The request for the bulk collection of all Verizon domestic telephone records indicates that the agency is continuing some version of the data-mining program begun by the Bush administration in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attack. The NSA, as part of a program secretly authorized by President Bush on 4 October 2001, implemented a bulk collection program of domestic telephone, internet and email records. A furore erupted in 2006 when USA Today reported that the NSA had "been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth" and was "using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity." Until now, there has been no indication that the Obama administration implemented a similar program. These recent events reflect how profoundly the NSA's mission has transformed from an agency exclusively devoted to foreign intelligence gathering, into one that focuses increasingly on domestic communications. A 30-year employee of the NSA, William Binney, resigned from the agency shortly after 9/11 in protest at the agency's focus on domestic activities. In the mid-1970s, Congress, for the first time, investigated the surveillance activities of the US government. Back then, the mandate of the NSA was that it would never direct its surveillance apparatus domestically. At the conclusion of that investigation, Frank Church, the Democratic senator from Idaho who chaired the investigative committee, warned: "The NSA's capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left, such is the capability to monitor everything: telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn't matter." Additional reporting by Ewen MacAskill and Spencer Ackerman http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/06/nsa-phone-records-verizon-court-order

Perhaps she was a futurist. She didn't live to see the 19th amendment passed. However, she was arrested for voting a straight Republican ticket. Something some others think should be universal. However, more likely, she was arrested simply for voting. The dollar coins minted in her honor have never taken off although I find them potentially very useful. But, then I have spent an inordinate amount of time with no food other than from vending machines. Best regards, RA1

Was she a Calvinist? Best regards, RA1

I think of Google more as Revelations.

AND, there are so many more choices. Best regards, RA1

The last 3 are too close to home for comment. Best regards, RA1

I prefer for my salmon to be good for my skin from the inside out. Best regards, RA1

I may be conservative but not THAT conservative. I blame TR for promoting the Japanese out of their isolationism leading to a LOT of trouble in the early 1900's and for many years thereafter. WW, not so much. BTW, I love dawn patrol. The air is usually clear and crisp. The heat of the day has not yet produced a lot of bumps and thunderstorms. The only consistent problem is that for some reason we usually go east (ward) in the mornings and, obviously westward in the afternoons. That results in the sun being in our eyes coming and going. Of course, I don't open my eyes all that much so it doesn't bother me as much now as it used to. Mustn't forget. Curse you Red Baron! Best regards, RA1

At some business conference I attended where Colin Powell was the celeb keynote speaker, some time after leaving office, he gave several anecdotes to illustrate that other countries fairly often take the U.S.'s ideals, and its position as global defender of them, more seriously than we ourselves tend to, of late.

For some reason, I tend to watch 24 every few years. Not just a show or two but the entire season. It still holds my interests as does Boston Legal. I loved Married with Children but have never gotten into the reruns. The two shows I NEVER tire of are Golden Girls and Sex in the City. Love them to death.

Let's not forget about that guy from N'Sinc that also came out. I think all guys from all boy bands must be hot, after all beauty is the only thing they have to offer and this one fits the bill (unlike One Direction). The one that looks like Paul McCartney is actually much better lookin than him and already got all my lovin. One thing: I don't think is obrigatory one of them to come out. Misteries are very intriguing and secrets are a wonderful thing! Despite all that Bieber will eventually come out. As a lesbian!

Yes, but I always thought that referred to the mammaries. Somewhat similar activity, different locale. Best regards, RA1

The Second from left looks like a younger, cuter Harry Styles, and the one on the far right looks like a young Paul McCartney

To state the obvious: Programs that are fresh when they first appear generally raise previously "tender" topics and have historical and usually additional contexts. Sooner or later that concept must become moldy and the writers and producers reduce to "developing" the characters. No matter how well we "like" the characters, that too has a limited life. These kinds of things tend to take anachronisms to new and different levels, don't they? Would a Tale of Two Cities be a well written book if we were not able to "ignore" various historical artifacts contained therein? Best regards, RA1

We had a tie between the two sides. For any ass and thigh guys, you have someone on the Brasil side to dream of - HULK. Yep, Brasil's version of the Incredible One.Definitely sit on your face and leave you breathless in more than one way. g

arrived back to rio June 1st hotel atlantico again, can the towels get any thinner... enough said. club 117, still good, i saw faces that have been there over 3 years... some new faces.... and 1 first timer.... drag show carla was on, and her side kick once again mined comic genius. think of ethel and lucy.... great bits. the basement bar is gone, a round bed sits sadly in the middle of the space, no door, not sure what it is used for. the back patio is the place to hang and grab a smoke. Boys as friendly, some aggressive, so wait for you to talk first... the old timers remember my name, I use a famous movie star name when i am here, and they all think its funny, but they do remember the name... the strippers... they have no problems showing their dick in the movie room, or hallways, but on stage, after they drop their speedos they keep their hands over their junk. they love to show the ass, but no goods. one of the strippers before the show, walked around the bar, hard and towel around his neck... today sunday full sun blue sky samba on the beach btw last metro stop is closed for now, makes getting to ipanema beach harder, big foot ball match in town a lot of brits

It never ends, or seems to, this being Brasil after all. I have a feeling that the judge who signed the injunction yesterday is in deep do-do with our powerful governor. The news on Globo led off with the report of the injunction against opening. Really big down here. After all, what is more important, futebol or more favela violence/crime? During the night, Gov. Cabral put his foot(or whatever) down and magically the paperwork found its way to the SUDERJ and the permit is approved. I was by the Maracana last Monday, the outdoor plazas are not finished. I can only imagine what is hiding unfinished and slapped together with Scotch tape(well actually they use massive amounts of fita preta or electrical tape here) inside. It is all about saving face after all with the upcoming 2014 and 2016 events. Last night at 117 and then on the street, on the ferry and then here at home, I'd walk past people and most of what I'd hear was the cancellation of Sunday's big match. It really is huge with the Maracana's official opening. After all, with the problems at the Engenhao where Botafogo plays and the miniscule, antique, but oh so pretty Sao Januario for my Vasco, the Fluminense and Flamengo sides will actually be playing in a real, professional futebol estadio. From a midnight BBC report: England's friendly with Brazil in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday is expected to go ahead despite safety concerns at the recently renovated Maracana stadium. A court order on Thursday suspended the game but a duty judge later revoked the suspension, a Rio de Janeiro state government statement said. The state government said it had presented a report showing the stadium complied with safety guidelines. Maracana stadium First built in 1950 for the World Cup in Brazil, the Maracana was once the largest stadium in the world, holding a crowd of around 200,000. It has undergone a number of renovations, the most recent of which - to prepare it for the 2014 World Cup finals - has cost more than £320m. In pictures: Maracana stadium reopens It had previously failed to deliver the report owing to a "bureaucratic flaw". "All safety requirements for the friendly between Brazil and England have been complied with and, because of a bureaucratic failure, the appraisal from the public ministry that proves the compliance with the rules on safety at the Maracana have not been sent to Suderj," the Rio government said in a statement. Suderj is a division of the Rio de Janeiro state authority which is responsible for administrative issues associated with major sports venues. The iconic 78,000-seat Maracana reopened in April after nearly three years of work updating it for the 2014 World Cup finals. Even though the work was completed four months behind schedule, local newspapers still reported problems with the venue. Days before the first test event at the stadium on 27 April - a friendly featuring former Brazil players - seats were still being installed and pavements laid near the venue. The Jornal do Brasil reported at the time that visitors "needed patience to deal with the many problems" at the venue, arising from the rush to complete it. It highlighted uneven flooring with small gaps and holes, flooding in the VIP area and a dysfunctional lift, and said some staff had tried to prevent journalists taking pictures of the affected areas. Play media The state government blamed its failure to present a key report on a "bureaucratic flaw" Rio's state prosecutors say there are dangerous materials at the venue, including rocks, pieces of metal and pavement, and that these could pose a threat to the public. "The stadium is not yet safe to hold a full house of paying public," said South American football writer Tim Vickery, who is based in Rio. There would have been huge pressure to overturn the suspension because of the embarrassment to the Brazilian authorities, he adds. England's visit is scheduled to be the first major international test of the facility, with the Confederations Cup beginning two weeks later. Roy Hodgson's squad have already arrived in Brazil ahead of what is scheduled to be England's first game at the Maracana since 1984.