Be glad this didn't happen in a democratic country, oh wait, it's England.

A man who posted racist messages on a website in memory of murdered black teenager Anthony Walker was jailed for more than three years today.

This guy wasn't even a Blogger, he was just a Commenter.

Neil Martin, 30, emailed at least six comments to the website - less than a week after Anthony was killed with an ice axe in a racist attack in Huyton, Merseyside, last year.

Where will the DU fans be on this issue of Free Speech?

(his Lawyer said): "He was isolated and living in a fantasy world, spending hours on his computer in his room where his persona could be as he made it, good or bad."

Oops, that hit pretty close to home.

Judge Henry Globe QC, the recorder of Liverpool, told Martin: "The intention of the website was innocent, honourable and well motivated.
You accessed that website and you abused its use. You posted highly abusive, insulting and racist messages on the site."

Apparently they deal with Trolls differently in the United Kingdom.

Posted by: Ace at 08:00 AM | Comments (25)
Post contains 192 words, total size 1 kb.

A member of Congress in favor of arming teachers? Guess his political affiliation.

MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) -- A state lawmaker, worried about a recent string of deadly school shootings, suggested arming teachers, principals and other school personnel as a safety measure and a deterrent.

Didn't a principal recently stop a school shooting by running to his (off campus) car and getting his gun?

It might not be politically correct, but it has worked effectively in other countries, Republican Rep. Frank Lasee said Wednesday.

Don't the Israelis require teachers to be armed?
Didn't it cut way down on school shootings?

"To make our schools safe for our students to learn, all options should be on the table," he said. "Israel and Thailand have well-trained teachers carrying weapons and keeping their children safe from harm. It can work in Wisconsin."

Hey, if it saves one kid, I'm for it.

Posted by: Ace at 06:51 AM | Comments (71)
Post contains 153 words, total size 1 kb.

While my guitar gently weeps . . . more...

Posted by: Ace at 12:46 AM | Comments (16)
Post contains 50 words, total size 1 kb.

Friday night, the boss is out of town.

Go nuts.

Posted by: Slublog at 07:53 PM | Comments (49)
Post contains 14 words, total size 1 kb.

Before we get to the news -- a brief lecture. Bear with me.

Legally, there are different types of agencies in the federal government. One type is an "independent agency." These agencies are essentially creatures of Congress which were specifically created to interpret and enforce Congressional legislation.

The Federal Communications Commission is an example of one such powerful agency. It was created to implement the Communications Act of 1934. It basically reports to Congress. Although the five members of the Commission are appointed by the President, only three can be from the same political party. This ensures that two Democrats are Commissioners when the Republicans hold the White House, and vice versa.

Other agencies are purely creatures of the Executive Branch, which function to execute the President's powers under Article II of the Constitution. The Department of Homeland Security is such an agency.

Now, the news.

WASHINGTON - President Bush, again defying Congress, says he has the power to edit the Homeland Security Department's reports about whether it obeys privacy rules while handling background checks, ID cards and watchlists.

In the law Bush signed Wednesday, Congress stated no one but the privacy officer could alter, delay or prohibit the mandatory annual report on Homeland Security department activities that affect privacy, including complaints.

But Bush, in a signing statement attached to the agency's 2007 spending bill, said he will interpret that section "in a manner consistent with the President's constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive branch."

Signing statements are used by the President to influence future judicial interpretations of a law, in the same way that Congress uses the "legislative record" (committee reports; legislators bullshitting from the floor) to exert the same influence. Note here Bush's reference to the "unitary executive branch." Bush is basically saying: "Fuck you, Congress. This is my agency, not yours, and you cannot supervise it or circumscribe my ability to control it."

Good on you, Mr. President.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said it's appropriate for the administration to know what reports go to Congress and to review them beforehand.

"There can be a discussion on whether to accept a change or a nuance," she said. "It could be any number of things."

Should that be controversial? Seems to me that the President should have the last word on what his agencies say to Congress.

Some do not agree.

The American Bar Association and members of Congress have said Bush uses signing statements excessively as a way to expand his power.

No. He is using signing statements to protect the Constitutional responsibilities of the Executive Branch from Congressional encroachments.

Privacy advocate Marc Rotenberg said Bush is trying to subvert lawmakers' ability to accurately monitor activities of the executive branch of government.

Bullshit. Congress has ample legal authority to monitor the executive branch. The principal weapon is Congressional hearings, backed by subpoena power. What Congress does not have is the ability to require executive agencies to report to them.

He [Marc Rotenberg] said the Homeland Security Department has the most significant impact on citizens' privacy of any agency in the federal government.

Homeland Security agencies check airline passengers' names against terrorist watch lists and detain them if there's a match. They make sure transportation workers' backgrounds are investigated. They are working on several kinds of biometric ID cards that millions of people would have to carry.

Earlier, I mentioned the FCC as an example of an independent agency. I chose the FCC just so I could point out that Marc Rotenberg is a dumbshit. The FCC regulates all aspects of the telecommunications industry, and is an order of magnitude more important on privacy issues than anything that DHS could do with respect to the privacy of airline passengers. Why does Marc not get this?

I just told you. He is a dumbshit.

Bush says he can edit privacy reports

Posted by: Ace at 06:55 PM | Comments (50)
Post contains 649 words, total size 5 kb.

Before the new television season started, I was really looking forward to "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." Aaron Sorkin may be liberal in his politics, but the man can write.

I made it through two and a half episodes before shutting off the television. The show had some great acting, some snappy dialogue and a fantastic premise, but it is collapsing under the weight of Sorkin's demons. He seems to regard this show, which had so much promise, as his own personal soapbox upon which to vent about television executives, former girlfriends and the religious right. In the first few episodes, there were some great scenes, but they were quickly brought to a screeching halt by Sorkin's clumsy moralizing.

Looks like I'm not the only one who was unimpressed.

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Soft ratings for highly touted rookie sitcom "Studio 60 on Sunset Strip" are reportedly setting the stage for a possible shuffling of NBC's primetime lineup.

Daily Variety observed Wednesday that "Studio 60" has lost 32 percent of its premier-week ratings and has no obvious new time slot it could be moved to.

Satire = good.
Constant drumbeat of negativity pointed at a particular group = not good.

Television executives are always telling us that if we don't like what's on the tube, we can just shut it off.

Thanks for the advice, guys. Hope it works out for you. Next time, leave your opinions at the door and just make with the drama or the funny.

There is already good news for this season, though - Heroes has just been given a full season. Geek fanboys rejoice.

Posted by: Slublog at 06:25 PM | Comments (30)
Post contains 324 words, total size 2 kb.

We report, you decide.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Ramsey Clark, a former US attorney general who is one of Saddam Hussein's lawyers, said that any death sentence against the former Iraqi president would increase violence in the strife-torn country.

"It seems clear that a guilty verdict will set off catastrophic violence" and that a death sentence would be even worse, Clark told a Washington press conference.

"It's hard to know how many Iraqis, dozens, hundreds, thousands, will die because of the sentence," he said.

A man's got to have his priorities, after all.

Posted by: Slublog at 06:10 PM | Comments (70)
Post contains 112 words, total size 1 kb.

Bit of a disagreement between some independent tin miners in Bolivia and the state-owned and operated mining company.

They are chucking sticks of dynamite at one another. That's commitment.

In town, residents held a prayer vigil in the local church for the violence to end. Blood stains and holes from explosives littered a soccer field in the Dolores neighborhood following fighting there Thursday.

They are negotiating frantically.

Overnight talks led by senior government officials failed to achieve a lasting agreement. Defense Minister Walker San Miguel blamed "intransigents that have not signed on to the cease-fire," but said he hoped the rivals might return to negotiations.

"We do not believe the doors of dialogue have been shut," he said.

Thank goodness.

The independents formed groups in the 80s following a collapse of the market. They assert they've got rights to the good times as well as the bad.

With tires rolling down the hill, filled with splosives.

Negotiations continue.

Posted by: Ace at 05:01 PM | Comments (16)
Post contains 166 words, total size 1 kb.

From the fact that I am posting, you may correctly infer that my recent attempt to organize a guest bloggers union here at AOSHQ was a total bust. In fact, the union movement was ruthlessly crushed by management (Ace), the brutal goon Laura, and that despicable cowardly scab Jack Michaels.

At Ace's request, Pixy Misa has created, just for me, the new mu.nu. registration status of Deep Shit Probationary Guest Blogger.

Still more evidence of the decline of the union movement in America.

Posted by: Ace at 11:34 AM | Comments (55)
Post contains 93 words, total size 1 kb.

Hi everyone.

We will be moving to new servers this weekend - specifically Sunday, starting at 2AM GMT (which conveniently is the middle of the day for me). We will be down for a couple of hours, and following that there will be a few hours where you might get directed to the old servers rather than the new ones. I will update this post to say either "OLD SERVER" or "NEW SERVER" so you'll know where you are.

So my advice is to go out and enjoy life for a few hours, or, depending on your personal timezone, just sleep through the whole thing.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:00 AM | Comments (19)
Post contains 115 words, total size 1 kb.