Archive for June 28th, 2006
Posted by Flap in ACLU
If it is a tool we use in the fight against terror one can bet that the ACLU will be against it. When the NY Times revealed classified information that we are trying to track international phone calls of suspected terrorists, the ACLU took that ball and are still running with it. When the NY Times leaked classified information that we are trying to track international bank transactions in order to catch terrorists the ACLU jumped on board with that too. If the NY Times doesn’t leak it to everyone, the ACLU will do its best by filing freedom of Information Act requests.
In the face of suspicions that the government is using cutting-edge brain-scanning technologies on suspected terrorists being held overseas or at home, the American Civil Liberties Union today announced that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with all the primary American security agencies.
“There are certain things that have such powerful implications for our society — and for humanity at large — that we have a right to know how they are being used so that we can grapple with them as a democratic society,†said Barry Steinhardt, Director of the ACLU’s Technology and Liberty Project. “These brain-scanning technologies are far from ready for forensic uses and if deployed will inevitably be misused and misunderstood.â€
I know that the ACLU claim to be the experts on rights, but I’m not sure where they found this “right to know†every secret government program used in a time of war. This must be one of those rights the ACLU made up out of thin air. Furthermore the ACLU’s leap that it would be inevitable that the program would be misused and misunderstood is pure biased opinion on their part.
Here is a brief description of the program.
FMRI is a technique for determining which parts of the brain are activated by different types of physical sensation or activity, such as sight, sound or the movement of a subject’s fingers. This “brain mapping†is achieved by setting up an advanced MRI scanner in a special way so that the increased blood flow to the activated areas of the brain shows up on Functional MRI scans. (See here for a description of the physiology of the BOLD response.) The whole FMRI process will now be briefly described.
The subject in a typical experiment will lie in the magnet and a particular form of stimulation will be set up. For example, the subject may wear special glasses so that pictures can be shown during the experiment. Then, MRI images of the subject’s brain are taken. Firstly, a high resolution single scan is taken. This is used later as a background for highlighting the brain areas which were activated by the stimulus. Next, a series of low resolution scans are taken over time, for example, 150 scans, one every 5 seconds. For some of these scans, the stimulus (in this case the moving picture) will be presented, and for some of the scans, the stimulus will be absent. The low resolution brain images in the two cases can be compared, to see which parts of the brain were activated by the stimulus.
After the experiment has finished, the set of images is analyzed. Firstly, the raw input images from the MRI scanner require mathematical transformation (Fourier transformation, a kind of spatial “inversionâ€) to reconstruct the images into “real spaceâ€, so that the images look like brains. The rest of the analysis is done using a series of tools which correct for distortions in the images, remove the effect of the subject moving their head during the experiment, and compare the low resolution images taken when the stimulus was off with those taken when it was on. The final statistical image shows up bright in those parts of the brain which were activated by this experiment. These activated areas are then shown as coloured blobs on top of the original high resolution scan, for interpretation of the experiment. This combined activation image can be rendered in 3D, and the rendering can be calculated from any angle. (See here for a brief overview of GLM analysis.)
Now why would the public need to know about this and debate it? This kind of information is for our elected officials to decide, and our enemies don’t need to know about it.
Back to the ACLU…
The most likely technology to be used for anti-terrorism purposes is Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), which can produce live, real-time images of people’s brains as they answer questions, view images, listen to sounds, and respond to other stimuli. Two private companies have announced that they will begin to offer “lie detection†services using fMRI as early as this summer. These companies are marketing their services to federal government agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, the National Security Agency and the CIA, and to state and local police departments.
“This technology must not be deployed until it is proven effective — and we are a long way away from that point, according to scientists in the field,†said Steinhardt. “What we don’t want is to open our newspapers and find that another innocent person has been thrown into Guantánamo because interrogators have jumped to conclusions based on a technology no one understands very well.â€
Who does the effectiveness of the program have to be proven to? If it has to be proven to the ACLU it would never happen. If the companies that have developed the technology are providing this service to the government as a useful means they are staking their reputation on its effectiveness. The ACLU admit that they don’t understand it well. Who would better understand it than those that developed it?
The ACLU’s FOIA requests were filed yesterday with the Pentagon, NSA, CIA, FBI and Department of Homeland Security.
“These brain-scanning technologies have potentially far-reaching implications, yet uncertain results and effectiveness,†said Steinhardt. “And we are still in our infancy when it comes to understanding the underlying processes of the brain that the scanners have begun to reveal. We do not want to see our government yet again deploying a potentially momentous technology unilaterally and in secret, before Americans have had a chance to figure out how it fits in with our values as a nation.â€
The Uncooperative Blogger says:
I say let’s experiment on terrorist, what better testing ground can you ask for? The ACLU has become just plain ridiculous, and they are not working in the best interest of our country. The New York Times, the leakers and the ACLU, who I refer to as the American Communist Liberation Union, are killing us in the war on terror!
So, what are we going to learn from an FOIA request? That they are using what I just told you about? Gee, that will be very helpful to the American people won’t it?
I’d just like to know how the ACLU would have us handle the war on terror. It seems they want us to fight the killers with kid gloves. If someone can name me one anti-terrorist program our government has implemented that the ACLU has approved of we might have a debate. I can’t think of one. If we are to fight the war on terror the way the ACLU wants we might as well just go ahead and surrender.
Bill O’Reilly is right on target.
The anti-Bush crew, led by The New York Times and the ACLU want civilian trials for terrorists, no coerced interrogation, no rendition for terrorists to other countries, no war in Iraq, and on and on. As I opine, The Times and other committed left media believe the Bush administration — and not the terrorists — is the primary danger to this country.
Thats ironic, because every once in a while I think it is the ACLU and far left that pose more of a danger to America.
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Hugh Hewitt: Congressman Oxley’s Resolution
Congressman Michael Oxley, Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, is said to be poised to introduce a resolution on the Times Two stories assisting the terrorists in eluding capture.
Let’s hope it is as tough as Sgt. Boggs’ letter.
Who will step up in the senate?
The resolution is now up on the House Rules Committee Page: H.Res 895 and can be viewed here.
Read it ALL……
Weak sauce and pathetic.
And it does not even mention the New York or Los Angeles Times.
Congressman David Dreier, Chairman of the House Rules Committee and Congressman Oxley should be ashamed of themselves.
Flap said yesterday that Senator Pat Roberts needed some COJONES. The same applies to Representatives Dreier and Oxley.
Give them a phone call.
David Dreier: 202 225-2305
Michael Oxley: 202 225-2676
Call your Congressman/woman. The House telephone directory is here.
Tell them to condemn the New York and Los Angeles Times for betraying America’s national security.
Tell your representative to NAME NAMES.
Flap has already called Representatives David Dreier and Elton Gallegly, my Congressman.
Call them……..
From N.Z. Bear, a suggestion: Rewrite the resolution and send us both the new language.
Better yet: Call Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader Boehner and tell them to give us a real resolution tomorrow or ask them why not?
Speaker Hastert: 202 225-2976
Majority Leader Boehner: 202 225-6205
Call them!
Speaker Hastert said today, “Loose lips kill American people”
Declaring that “loose lips” kill Americans, a top congressional Republican leader said on Wednesday the House of Representatives would debate a resolution condemning the U.S. media for exposing details of secret intelligence programs.
The move heaps more criticism on The New York Times and other newspapers that reported last week on a secret program by the U.S. Treasury Department that monitors private bank records in an effort to track terrorist organizations.
“What we’re talking about is people who are leaking classified information. It’s not news. It’s classified information our government is using to fight terrorists,” said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, of Illinois.
“Loose lips kill American people,” he added.
A floor vote is scheduled for Thursday, said a spokesman for House Majority Leader John Boehner.
Call Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader Boehner tomorrow. Tell them you want a resolution the names the New York and Los Angeles Times in the body of the resolution. INSIST ON IT!
Flap knows you will be glad you did……..
Previous:
Global War on Terror Watch: Michael Gerson Shames Media for Revealing SWIFT Anti-Terror Program
Global War on Terror Watch: Piling on the New York Times?
Global War on Terror Watch: GOP House Leadership to Introduce Resolution Condemning New York Times for Publishing the Secret Details of SWIFT Bank Data Anti-Terrorism Program
Global War on Terror Watch: Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times Explains SWIFT Scoop
Global War on Terror Watch: Dean Baquet – Why the Los Angeles Times Published the Secret Details of SWIFT Bank Data Anti-Terrorism Program
Global War on Terror Watch: United States Treasury Secretary Snow Responds to Bill Keller of the New York Times
Global War on Terror Watch: President Bush Condemns Disclosure and Publishing Details of SWIFT Anti-Terrorism Finance Program
Los Angeles Times Watch: Patterico and Danziger Dump the Los Angeles Dog Trainer
Global War on Terror Watch: Dear Mr. Keller – Why?
Global War on Terror Watch: New York Times Publishes Secret Details of SWIFT Bank Data Anti-Terrorism Program
Technorati Tags: HughHewitt, LosAngelesTimes, NewYorkTimes, GlobalWaronTerror, SWIFT, MichaelOxley, DavidDreier, PatRoberts, EltonGallegly
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President Bush and “Wordsmith” Michael Gerson
The Examiner: Bush advisor shames media for revealing anti-terror program
A top adviser to President Bush said Wednesday that poor judgment, not liberal bias, caused the New York Times to reveal anti-terrorism programs, for which the paper should be ashamed.
“It’s not a matter of liberal bias – it’s a matter of judgment,” Michael Gerson told The Examiner in his West Wing office. “Everyone in our society, including the press, has a responsibility to the public good, to the public interest.
Flap agrees in part. Bill Keller of the New York Times is a biased lefty MSM hack and because of his inherent distrust of politicians including President Bush exhibited extremely poor judgment in publishing the story.
“And I know that there are many reporters in this town, and many news organizations, that would be very hesitant about running this story,” he added.
Gerson, best known as the author of Bush’s most memorable speeches, was referring to last week’s disclosure of a program to track international financial transfers by suspected terrorists. The Times first published the story, prompting the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times to follow suit.
Earlier this year, the Times also published a story exposing a Bush administration program to track the international phone calls of terrorism suspects. Administration officials say such disclosures have undermined the war against terror.
“Even in the elite media, even in what people regard as the liberal media, there is a sense of restraint on issues like this, in many places,” Gerson said on his last day on the job. “That should maybe shame the people who don’t share it.”
Flap wishes Gerson well in his new life outside of the government – even though he is WRONG on this assessment of the New York Times and Bill Keller.
And why did the SWIFT Program Matter?
Read John Hinderacker over at Powerline: Why SWIFT Mattered
Read it ALL
Graphic Courtesy of Michelle Malkin
Previous:
Global War on Terror Watch: Piling on the New York Times?
Global War on Terror Watch: GOP House Leadership to Introduce Resolution Condemning New York Times for Publishing the Secret Details of SWIFT Bank Data Anti-Terrorism Program
Global War on Terror Watch: Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times Explains SWIFT Scoop
Global War on Terror Watch:
Dean Baquet – Why the Los Angeles Times Published the Secret Details of
SWIFT Bank Data Anti-Terrorism Program
Global War on Terror Watch: United States Treasury Secretary Snow Responds to Bill Keller of the New York Times
Global War on Terror Watch: President Bush Condemns Disclosure and Publishing Details of SWIFT Anti-Terrorism Finance Program
Los Angeles Times Watch: Patterico and Danziger Dump the Los Angeles Dog Trainer
Global War on Terror Watch: Dear Mr. Keller – Why?
Global War on Terror Watch: New York Times Publishes Secret Details of SWIFT Bank Data Anti-Terrorism Program
Technorati Tags: NewYorkTimes, GlobalWaronTerror, SWIFT, BillKeller, MichaelGerson
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CNS News: Celebs to Join Cindy Sheehan in Hunger Strike
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan announced Wednesday that she plans to begin an “open-ended hunger strike” on July 4 to urge the Bush administration to bring troops home from Iraq.
“We hope the fast will galvanize public attention, invigorate the peace movement, build pressure on elected officials, and get our troops back home,” Sheehan said in a statement posted on the anti-war blogosphere.
The fast, organized by Code Pink and Sheehan’s Gold Star Families for Peace, will begin on Independence Day in Washington, D.C. In her statement Sheehan said she would move the fast to Crawford, Texas, where the president owns a ranch and often vacations.
This is not a real healthy choice and certainly will weaken her protests. But, hey…….at the end of the day will it make a difference?
NO WAY
In her latest statement, Sheehan wrote that celebrities like singer Willie Nelson, actor Danny Glover and comedian Dick Gregory will show their support for her by joining in a one-day fast. She urged her supporters to do the same.
From the looks of him, Flap doubts if Gregory can withstand another fast. Danny Glover can stand to lose a few pounds.
Symbolism over substance…….because Sheehan has NO substance to her NUTTER antics.
U.S. anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan gestures during a demonstration against the visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to Vienna June 21, 2006. Bush is in Vienna to attend an annual U.S. – European Union summit.
Michelle Malkin has CINDY’S GOIN’ ON A HUNGER STRIKEÂ
Think she’ll last longer than Saddam?
Discuss this blog post and MORE…. at the FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blogs, My Dental Forum.Previous:
Cindy Sheehan Watch:President Bush’s Vienna Arrival Met by Cindy Sheehan
Cindy Sheehan Watch: Supporting United States Deserters in Canada
Cindy Sheehan Watch: Support the Troops?
Cindy Sheehan Watch: Cindy Down Under And the War Machine Conspiracy Theory
Cindy Sheehan Watch: Return to Crawford for Easter
Cindy Sheehan Watch: Don’t Attack Iran
Cindy Sheehan Watch: Susan Sarandon to Portray Sheehan in Biopic Film?
Cindy Sheehan Watch: A NO SHOW in Germany Protest
Cindy Sheehan Watch: ARRESTED Again
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Set of teeth on display at a dental show. Snaggle-toothed hockey players and sugar lovers may soon rejoice as Canadian scientists said they have created the first device able to re-grow teeth and bones.
AFP: Smile! A new Canadian tool can re-grow teeth say inventors
The researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton filed patents earlier this month in the United States for the tool based on low-intensity pulsed ultrasound technology after testing it on a dozen dental patients in Canada.
“Right now, we plan to use it to fix fractured or diseased teeth, as well as asymmetric jawbones, but it may also help hockey players or children who had their tooth knocked out,” Jie Chen, an engineering professor and nano-circuit design expert, told AFP.
Chen helped create the tiny ultrasound machine that gently massages gums and stimulates tooth growth from the root once inserted into a person’s mouth, mounted on braces or a removable plastic crown.
The wireless device, smaller than a pea, must be activated for 20 minutes each day for four months to stimulate growth, he said.
It can also stimulate jawbone growth to fix a person’s crooked smile and may eventually allow people to grow taller by stimulating bone growth, Chen said.
Tarek El-Bialy, a new member of the university’s dentistry faculty, first tested the low-intensity pulsed ultrasound treatment to repair dental tissue in rabbits in the late 1990s.
His research was published in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics and later presented at the World Federation of Orthodontics in Paris in September 2005.
Quick sell your dental implant stocks……
Seriously. this looks like an interesting prospect but won’t be replacing conventional dentistry and/or dental implants anytime soon.
Discuss this blog post and MORE…. at the FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blogs, My Dental Forum.
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German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung gestures during an interview with Reuters at the defence ministry in Berlin, June 26, 2006. Picture taken June 26, 2006. Iran should be allowed to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes with close monitoring by U.N. inspectors to ensure that it is not trying to develop atomic weapons, Germany’s defence minister said.
Reuters: U.S. says Germany has assured it no divide over Iran
Germany has assured the United States there is no divide between its position and that of the major powers on the issue of Iran not enriching uranium in its nuclear program, the State Department said on Wednesday.
Deputy spokesman Adam Ereli, referring to a Reuters interview with Germany’s defense minister that suggested a split among major powers, said “there’s no division.”
He added that when asked to clarify their position, the Germans told Washington “this is an erroneous story.”
Reuters has the original piece which indicated a change of position of Germany toward Iranian uranium enrichment, Germany can accept nuclear enrichment in Iran
Iran should be allowed to enrich uranium for power generation provided there is close monitoring by U.N. inspectors to ensure it is not trying to develop atomic weapons, Germany’s defense minister said on Wednesday.
The Quotes:
In an interview with Reuters this week, Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung was asked if Iran should be allowed to enrich uranium under the scrutiny of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“I think so. The offer includes everything. That means the civilian use of nuclear energy is possible but not atomic weapons. And monitoring mechanisms must be applied. I think it would be wise for Iran to accept this offer,” he said.
Jung, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats, said he understood U.S. reservations but added that a ban on Iranian enrichment work was unrealistic.
“One cannot forbid Iran from doing what other countries in the world are doing in accordance with international law. The key point is whether a step toward nuclear weapons is taken. This cannot happen,” he said.
The German Defense Minister is reflecting the policy of Chancellor Merkel’s government?
Questionable.
If it is then why include Germany in the Big 6 ( P-5-plus-1 – five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany) proposal in the first place?
Allah’s concern is misplaced.
The Big 6 coalition is resolute. Uranium enrichment MUST stop before any further negotiations.
Yes or No?
But, we know what Iran’s decision will be since they covet nuclear weapons.
Ereli, at a daily news briefing, said: “We’ve all said Iran has theoretical right to nuclear energy but there needs to be specific guarantees, safeguards based on specific agreements. So their right to peaceful use of nuclear energy is not a subject of debate.”
He noted suggestions that “they (Iranians) had the right to enrich, and that’s really where I think some confusion might have been caused and what I wanted to dispel …There is no division. There is full and complete (major power) consensus on this very important point, and that has been reiterated to us by the German government.”
“We’ve been in touch with the German government. They have assured us that there’s no change in their policy; that they are firmly and completely with the P-5-plus-1 consensus on this. And that consensus is based on IAEA Board of Governors resolutions and U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Ereli added.
End of story?
Stay tuned……..
Discuss this blog post and MORE…. at the FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blogs, My Dental Forum.
Previous:
Iran Nuclear Watch: G-8 Foreign Ministers to Nudge Iran?Â
Iran Nuclear Watch: Britain to Iran – No Talks About TalksÂ
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Says NO
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Faces Gas Rationing
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Urges Patience
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Repeats Threat to Use Oil As a Weapon
Iran Nuclear Watch: Uranium Enrichment Halt Not a Precondition to Negotiations And Not EVER
Iran Nuclear Watch: Uranium Enrichment Halt Not a Precondition to Negotiations
Iran Nuclear Watch: President Bush Rejects August Iranian Response to Big 6 Proposal
Cox & Forkum: Forked Tongue
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Accuses the United States of Pushing Europe Away from Compromise
Iran Nuclear Watch: President Ahmadinejad – Big 6 Proposal a “Step Forwardâ€
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Would “Use Nuclear Defense†If Threatened
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Sends Mixed Signals on Big 6 Proposal?
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei REJECTS Suspension of Uranium Enrichment
 The Natanz uranium enrichment complex in Natanz is pictured in this January 2, 2006 satellite image.
Technorati Tags: Iran, MahmoudAhmadinejad
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) attends in Tehran, June 27, 2006.
Reuters: Iran to dominate G8 foreign ministers’ meeting
Foreign ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations meet in Moscow on Thursday to decide how best to nudge Iran to give a clear answer to proposals aimed at ending the standoff over its nuclear plans.
Iran has yet to reply to the June 6 offer of incentives from six world powers to persuade it to stop enriching uranium without oversight by international atomic energy monitors.
The West fears Iran has a secret nuclear weapons program but Tehran says the enrichment is for atomic power generation.
The European Union and United States have called for an Iranian reply in “weeks, not months” after Iran said it would not reply until late August. They indicated they would like it before a summit of G8 leaders on July 15-17.
Russia, which has signed up to the incentive package but has supported Iran’s nuclear energy program, is pushing energy security as the main topic of the summit being held in the second city of St Petersburg. It is unlikely to want to see the main event overshadowed by Iran, a G8 source said.
But, the G-8 Europeans will hand-wring about the Iranian nuclear crisis. But, the ball is in their court.
Iran MUST accept the Big 6 Proposal or face United Nations Security Council sanctions. Iran must halt uranium enrichment.
Iran won’t, but, will stall a decision until after the G-8 summit meeting in Russia on July 15-17.
No further negotiation is necessary by the Big 6 – JUST REFER IRAN TO THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL.
Stay tuned…….
Discuss this blog post and MORE…. at the FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blogs, My Dental Forum.
Previous:
Iran Nuclear Watch: Britain to Iran – No Talks About TalksÂ
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Says NO
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Faces Gas Rationing
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Urges Patience
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Repeats Threat to Use Oil As a Weapon
Iran Nuclear Watch: Uranium Enrichment Halt Not a Precondition to Negotiations And Not EVER
Iran Nuclear Watch: Uranium Enrichment Halt Not a Precondition to Negotiations
Iran Nuclear Watch: President Bush Rejects August Iranian Response to Big 6 Proposal
Cox & Forkum: Forked Tongue
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Accuses the United States of Pushing Europe Away from Compromise
Iran Nuclear Watch: President Ahmadinejad – Big 6 Proposal a “Step Forwardâ€
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Would “Use Nuclear Defense†If Threatened
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Sends Mixed Signals on Big 6 Proposal?
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei REJECTS Suspension of Uranium Enrichment
The Natanz uranium enrichment complex in Natanz is pictured in this January 2, 2006 satellite image.
Technorati Tags: Iran, MahmoudAhmadinejad
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