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This is The State for July 9th 2008.

Here’s the news:

The Senate Approved the Surveillance Bill that gives telecommunications companies immunity after they broke the law in cooporating with the intelligence community to wire tap in the US.

When corporations like AT&T, and Verizon break the law, they just work with the government to pass a law saying that they didn’t break the law.

Tele-comms are now protected from an civil lawsuits arising from the fact that they helped, and are continuing to help eavesdrop on American phone and computer lines.

Now, you better hope that your not on the receiving end of a misdial from a terrorist suspect. Once the CIA, FBI, or any other unconstitutional entity finds out that a terrorist called your phone you’ll be headed to Egypt on Gulfstream never to be heard from again if your lucky.

Back to the story… about 40 lawsuits have been filed against the tele-comms for breaking the law, and violating the privacy rights of their customers. The passage of this law seams to be nothing more than a last ditch effort to save these guys from some massive lawsuits…for again, breaking the law.

How did this law pass?

The Washington Post claims a deal was cut: the Democratic Leadership would support the FISA bill if the President would agree to add $95 billion in DOMESTIC spending to the latest Iraq appropriation. The big news seems to be the fact that Obama voted with those Democrats to sell the 4th amendment for 95 Billion,

Bush becomes a socialist, and the Democrats become Neo-Cons. I supposed that assumes there is a difference between the two - an assumption I don’t hold.

But as Bill Clinton once said, “We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans…” - Bill Clinton

Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley, who explained, “What the Democrats are doing here with the White House is they’re trying to conceal a crime that is hiding in plain view. … Nobody wants to have a confrontation over the fact that the president committed a felony. … That’s a very inconvenient fact right now in Washington.”

“The Democrats have learned well from Bush,” Turley said in amazement. “They’re just going to change the rules. … It’s otherworldly. … I am completely astonished by Senator Obama’s position — and obviously disappointed.

“It’s like all those stories where someone is assaulted on the street and a hundred witnesses do nothing,” continued Turley. “In this case, the Fourth Amendment is going to be eviscerated tomorrow, and a hundred people are going to watch it happen because it’s just not their problem. … There’s not an ounce of principle, not an ounce of public interest in this legislation.”

THE ACLU PLANS to fight the bill
“This fight is not over. We intend to challenge this bill as soon as President Bush signs it into law,” said Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project. “The bill allows the warrantless and dragnet surveillance of Americans’ international telephone and email communications. It plainly violates the Fourth Amendment.”

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SPY ON THEM
from AfterDowningStreet.org - Impeach Bush and Cheney Now! by davidswanson

They tossed out the Fourth Amendment. They believe that an out-of-control dictatorial president should be free to order the government and communications corporations to spy on you with no warrant, with no probable cause, and with no accountability. Therefore, you should feel no qualms about spying on them: everywhere they go, including in their homes: get them on video. We want to see Youtube’s of them sleeping! Do not give them a moment outside of the gaze of the public they have betrayed

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Ancient ‘Dead Sea’ Stone Tablet Might Rewrite the Bible

A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew found near the Dead Sea in Jordan that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is raising eyebrows in biblical and archaeological circles.

Daniel Boyarin, a professor of Talmudic culture at the University of California at Berkeley said that “Some Christians will find it shocking — a challenge to the uniqueness of their theology — while others will be comforted by the idea of it being a traditional part of Judaism,”

The stone was found ten years ago after being passed around by dealers, and the first scholarly paper to be written on it’s content was published a year ago. The stone describes a prophecy from the Angel Gabriel, but is illegible in parts, particularly the part which describes the resurrection of a “Prince of Princes” from the dead.

Sadly, artifacts like this start out hot:
Ossuary Tales - On October 21, 2002, the discovery of an inscription on the side of a light brown, chalky limestone box was announced at a Washington press conference. http://www.archaeology.org/0301/newsbriefs/ossuary …

But end in flames:
The James Ossuary - Five individuals have been indicted in Israel for forging biblical artifacts including the James Ossuary. Follow our coverage of the unraveling of this alleged forgery ring. http://www.archaeology.org/ossuary/index.html

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U.S. war resister narrowly avoids deportation
from AfterDowningStreet.org - Impeach Bush and Cheney Now! by davidswanson

By Becky Rynor, Canwest News Service

OTTAWA - U.S. war resister Corey Glass is looking at spending “at least a couple more months in Canada” after a federal court granted him a stay of removal.

“I was shocked,” Glass said shortly after receiving the phone call Wednesday afternoon telling him he could stay in Canada.

“I had my bags ready and had moved out of my apartment. So I’m in the process of looking for another apartment,” said Glass, 25.

Glass was scheduled to be deported to the United States on Thursday.

“We’re feeling very relieved today because we firmly believe he faces very, very harsh treatment in the United States,” said one of his lawyers, Geraldine Sadoway. “We’ve seen what happens to other deserters and we are very concerned about his personal, physical and psychological well-being if he was removed to the United States.”

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9 Million Brits to Pay Greenhouse Gas Tax

Brits are facing a massive increase in road taxes. Driving is going to cost a lot more in a country that is starting to look a lot like communist China.

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Former head of MI5 (Britain’s counter terrorism intelligence agency) says that a pending law that would allow for 42-Days of Detention for anyone being arrested on terrorist related charges, before any charges are brought, is impractical, and un-principled. Lady Manningham-Buller, an anti-terrorism specialist who led MI5 during the London Tube bombings three years ago denounced the plans

he told peers: “I have weighed up the balance between the right to life – the most important civil liberty – the fact that there is no such thing as complete security, and the importance of our hard-won civil liberties. Therefore, on a matter of principle, I cannot support 42 days’ pre-charge detention. I do understand different views and that there are judgments honestly reached by others, and I respect these views.”

Lord Goldsmith “I cannot support this. I believe that detention without charge for a long period would undermine fundamental freedoms on which this country is based, of which this country should be proud, of which I will say my party ought to be proud. I will not undermine them in this way.”

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Tasters file lawsuits against Cadbury
from WhatReallyHappened.com
They had one sweet job.

In mid-March, while they were still in training, their class sampled an experimental high-intensity sweetener that Cadbury hoped would be the next big thing in flavor.

Instead, it left them with oral lesions and chemical burns that they say are affecting their ability to taste normally and eat certain foods without a burning sensation.

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US Backs Jundullah To Destabilize Iran
Press TV

Pakistan’s former Army Chief, Retired General Mirza Aslam Baig, says the US is supporting the outlawed Jundullah group to destabilize Iran.

He said that the US is providing training facilities to Jundullah fighters–located in eastern areas of Iran–to create unrest in the area and affect the cordial ties between Iran and its neighbor Pakistan.

Baig added that Iran and Pakistan are under the siege of western conspiracies.

The intelligence agencies of the coalition forces are very active in Afghanistan and work against the interests of Iran, Pakistan, China and Russia in the region, he said as quoted by Pakistan Daily newspaper.

The former Pakistani official hailed Islamabad’s decision to hand over the captured Jundullah members to Iran, saying those working against the interests of Iran and Pakistan should be dealt with iron fist.

Jundullah is a terrorist group, headed by Abdolmalek Rigi, which operates in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan and Pakistan’s Baluchistan.

Last month Pakistan handed over Abdolhamid Rigi, brother of Abdolmalek, to Iran.

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Obama: Blackwater Here To Stay

“There are going to be uses for private contractors,” he said. And not just in the mess hall, or behind a fork lift.

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EU Police Stations May Open In UK
07-09-2008
London Telegraph

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EU police stations could be opened in Britain under plans to bring Brussels closer to its citizens.

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Rockefeller’s Modern Day Hitler Youth Group

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US may have sold mass surveillance gear to Chavez

“Although Phoenix Worldwide Industries has been in business for many years, until now, we’ve kept ourselves a secret to meet the classified data requirements of the U.S. government intelligence, investigative, and enforcement agencies that have been our principal clients.
Now that certain information is no longer classified, we are in a position to serve the law enforcement, investigative, and security needs of police departments that have the same, demanding high standards as the U.S. government agencies that rely on our products and services.”[1]

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Higher CO2 Levels May Be Good For Plants
07-08-2008
AFP
The dangerous rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may be troubling scientists and world leaders but it could prove to be a boon for plants, German researchers said Tuesday.

Increasing exposure to carbon dioxide appears to boost crop yields, Hans-Joachim Weigel of the Johann Heinrich von Thuenen Institute for rural areas, forestry and fisheries in the central city of Brunswick told AFP.

“Output increased by about 10 percent for barley, beets and wheat” when the plants were subjected to higher levels of carbon dioxide, Weigel said.

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Iran To Hit Tel Aviv U.S. Ships If Attacked

Cars In CA To Display Global Warming Score
07-07-2008
Green Biz

OAKLAND, Calif. — California is making it mandatory for cars to be labeled with global warming scores, figures that take into account emissions from vehicle use and fuel production.

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Intel Report: Iran Resumed A-Bomb Project
07-07-2008
London Telegraph
Iran has resumed work on constructing highly sophisticated equipment that nuclear experts say is primarily used for building atomic weapons, according to the latest intelligence reports received by Western diplomats.

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U.S. Planned to test Nerve Gas On Australian Soldiers
07-07-2008
Courier Mail
THE US military planned to test deadly nerve gas on Australian soldiers in far north Queensland during the Cold War, declassified documents reveal.
The Defence and Prime Minister’s office files show that the US was strongly pushing then prime minister Harold Holt’s government in the 1960s to allow tests of two of the deadliest chemical weapons ever developed — VX and GB, better known as Sarin nerve gas.

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Jail knife carriers, says Cameron
Conservative leader David Cameron calls for tougher measures to tackle knife crime
Anyone caught carrying a knife without a good excuse should expect to go to prison, Tory leader David Cameron says.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has argued that anyone over 16 caught with an illegal knife should be prosecuted, rather than escaping with a caution.

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Quacks: Give Cholesterol Drugs To 8-Year Olds

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Americans United: Obama Support For Expansion Of ‘Faith-Based’ Program Is Disappointing, Says Americans United

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‘More robust’ regulation needed for Wall Street firms: Bernanke
ACLU: U.S. blocking payments to Guantanamo attorneys

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The U.S. government is blocking the American Civil Liberties Union from paying attorneys representing suspected terrorists held here, insisting that the ACLU must first receive a license from the U.S. Treasury Department before making the payments.
More Mexicans leaving U.S. under duress

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Two hours were enough for José Luis Sánchez and his family to pack their most valuable belongings in two vans – items accumulated in 10 years of living in the Dallas area. ( 26 Comments )
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke called Tuesday for legislation to provide “more robust” supervision of Wall Street investment firms. ( 8 Comments )

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