NSA Data Mining

To be honest (and my mom always taught me to be), I have no assumptions as to the levels to which this regime will reach to accomplish their goals.

Never have. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Capiche?

My gut has told me all along, since the moment the news retracted Gore winning Florida and they showed a smirking Dubya and his mommy and daddy saying it wasn't over yet, I knew "all bets were off".

So let them monitor away. I have rights ya know, my freedom of speech and expression to fall back on. I'm sure the Supreme Court would back me up on this, because the constitution says...

What's that you say? Bush is trying to stack the Court with a new nominee that supports eavesdropping without a warrant? Wow, what a coincidence! I wonder if the nominee knew about this ongoing activity when he was being vetted by the WH? Hmmm. Might Karl have let it slip at some point? Rumor has it he does that every now and then.

Crap, so when our "elected" officials inevitably cave during boy-SCOTUS confirmation hearings, I can assume that consitutional right to speech and freedom of expression, oh and my privacy... they go out the back door, huh?

How many does that leave left, anyway?

Bottom line: I assume nothing is offlimits where it comes to this administration, and I assume even less in the way of a pulse from the single-dumbest electorate to ever walk this face of this earth.

Land of the Free? Home of the brave?

So Happy Holidays to whoever is monitoring me today... I have a giftwrapped finger for you.

NY Times: Domestic spying widespread

Saturday, December 24, 2005

NEW YORK (AP) -- The National Security Agency has conducted much broader surveillance of e-mails and phone calls -- without court orders -- than the Bush administration has acknowledged, The New York Times reported.

The NSA, with help from American telecommunications companies, obtained access to streams of domestic and international communications, said the Times, citing unidentified current and former government officials.

The story did not name the companies.

Since the Times disclosed the domestic spying program last week, President Bush has stressed that his executive order allowing the eavesdropping was limited to people with known links to al Qaeda.

But the Times said that NSA technicians have combed through large volumes of phone and Internet traffic in search of patterns that might lead to terrorists.

The volume of information harvested from telecommunications data and voice networks, without court-approved warrants, is much larger than the White House has acknowledged, the paper said, quoting an unnamed official.

The story quoted a former technology manager at a major telecommunications firm as saying that companies have been storing information on calling patterns since the September 11 attacks, and giving it to the federal government. Neither the manager nor the company he worked for was identified.

Well I've protested every war since I've been old enough to walk and then with the antidraft, antinuclear, feminist and environmental movements and then worked on McCarthy, McGovern, Hart and Kerry campaigns, it's a given (about being "watched"). Enemy of freedom.

There was a show on the terrorist threat once back in the 80s & a friend in Syracuse NY saw me, my husband and my toddler protesting against El Salvador war (on late night tv). I guess even then, protesters were tied in with "enemies."
(Reagan era)

Here is something revealing (about our foreign policy and how "qualified" top people are):

A Junior Aide Had a Big Role in Terror Policy
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/122305S.shtml
A two-year justice department junior aid was a critical player in the Bush administration's legal response to terrorist threats and an influential advocate for the expansive claims of presidential authority.

--I think Clinton and the intern had a more innocent relationship than this.

You can read about Carnivore, Echelon, DARPA and so on by Googling but you won't sleep then. & remember who was involved for awhile? Poindexter - from the Nixon era!! He'd had alot of practice. Then read about CIA mind control - try MK Ultra. Then if you're not paranoid yet, read some more from Electronic Freedom Frontier people and Libertarian groups from the left to right. There are any number of "conspiracy" sites - some are more plausible than others but "what if" journalism sometimes turns into "what really happened" later on.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not watching you .. as we used to say in graduate school.

Tis the day before the feast, and so much to do..
chestunts to roast and Elmo to program.. my vote for the most absurd toy of the season.

But as I drink my coffee I'm trying to reflect on what this time of year really means. It's got to be more than Sesame Street pda's for 3 year olds.

The word light keeps coming to mind. the light of a star, the light that lasted for 9 days, the 7 lights that represent 7 virtues, even the simple fact that the sun shines for a few more seconds than it did a few days ago.

Light then becomes my wish for us this year. Secrets thrive only in the dark. We can, and we will shine light on them in this coming year. Be the media, be the light, and we will take back what is ours by birthright.

The best of this season to you my friends.

Ladytechie and all,

Thank you for the overview of the season; it is the one closest toy own heart. We tend to have a pagan cast on all the holidays anyway, but this year the Festival of Lights corresponds to the Celebration of Light, bringing the metaphors home ever more clearly.

Tonight we will have our children together and we will light as many candles as we can: for those we have lost, for those we have found, for those stuck watching us (we light candles for them so they can see clearly into our committed lives, and maybe even be inspired by our quest for truth), for those disenfranchised and disconnected, so they may find their way home.

The darkness of winter asks us to lighten up, to light it up, to breathe deeply and wisely, and to recommit to justice and truth and peace.

With all of us, working together, we can light a mighty fire. And we can shine that light on the hidden truth, and show the way.

Have a wonderful day with family; our oldest, Cleo, has bubbled home from Montreal, full of love for learning and her own mind. Dana and Larry are buying presents, for each other even, a Christmas miracle and a triumph of the familiar over the new. We watched "Love Actually" and "The Princess Bride" last night and felt the press of hope and happy endings close by.

May small miracles warm your hearts, may we each rest deeply in the folds of the familiar rituals, and may you EACH know how treasured your words are on these pages.

To the DCP Family: WARM HOLIDAY WISHES!!

Karen
We have watched "Love Actually" at Christmas since it came out. Any resemblances to Tony Blair or Monica Lewinsky are accidental, right?!

We now have the box sets for the Simpsons and Pee Wee's Playhouse from other years and now we will have the Beavis & Butthead box set, plus alot of Alfred Hitchcock & Twilight Zone.

My son is working at the bakery today so I'll go for my "family discount" for coffee & do some drawing there. Then our friend Henry comes up from Portland & our annual tradition is to go to the Mall & watch the men shop. They are mostly at perfume counters and Victoria's Secret & have no idea what to buy & look very bummed, having procrastinated.

Just got off the phone to Marc in France & we'll soon have Sebastien coming from Canada. Anybody monitoring out there?

Results 1 - 10 of about 93,800,000 for government monitoring. (0.40 seconds) 

Results 1 - 10 of about 64,600,000 for monitoring international phone calls. (0.38 seconds)

internet, cell phone etc.

DiAnne,

Thinking of you serenely drawing while the smell of Seattle coffee and the bakery waft by...

We are about to do the surgery on the laptop and set up the tree-- also -- FINALLY-- mail presents, which will be, as they inevitably always are, late.

Love to you and yours.

This is IMPORTANT news.

UMass Mao library book story is a hoax

(From the diaries -- Plutonium Page. Please spread the word.)

The story of the student who received a visit from homeland security agents because he had checked out Mao's Little Red Book has now been confirmed to be a fabrication.

From the newspaper that originally broke the story:

NEW BEDFORD -- The UMass Dartmouth student who claimed to have been visited by Homeland Security agents over his request for "The Little Red Book" by Mao Zedong has admitted to making up the entire story.

The 22-year-old student tearfully admitted he made the story up to his history professor, Dr. Brian Glyn Williams, and his parents, after being confronted with the inconsistencies in his account.

Had the student stuck to his original story, it might never have been proved false.

But on Thursday, when the student told his tale in the office of UMass Dartmouth professor Dr. Robert Pontbriand to Dr. Williams, Dr. Pontbriand, university spokesman John Hoey and The Standard-Times, the student added new details.

http://dailykos.com/

Well it beat my hard drive crashed as the excuse for why the paper was late! LOL...

The sad part is it was so believable.

Karen to you & all your family & also DCP bloggers, your extended family!

Joyeux Noelle! Just wrapped presents with penguin paper and Dr. Seuss paper. Off to the coffee shop (no one is up yet).

The sad part is it was so believable.

Posted by: Ladytechie at December 24, 2005 12:48 PM

True, but we have an obligation to be sure such stories are accurate and be careful not to spread them when they hit the net. I encourage you to go to the dailykos and read the postings about this topic. You will see that no other news organizations picked the story up after it was released. Mostly the story was run on various blogs (including the Huffington Post)

I had considered using it in a letter to the editor, but because I couldn't find any other independent verification, I didn't go with it. If we are going to be the media, we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard.

Hearing cool things from friends:

So much of the news is bad these days. The latest outrage, which you've all heard about, is that the US government has been spying on mosques and private homes of Muslims. There is some good news, however, that the US papers choose to ignore:

Muslims offer Indonesian Christians sanctuary at Christmas -23/12/05

One of Indonesia's largest Muslim organisations has offered hundreds of its buildings as safe venues for Christmas religious services amid fears of terror attacks, reports The Age in Melbourne, Australia.

It also says it will provide security guards at many churches, as previously reported on Ekklesia.

"We invite our Christian brothers and sisters to say prayers on Christmas Eve and to celebrate Christmas in our schools and other buildings," said Din Syamsuddin, who chairs Muhammadiyah, a conservative Islamic organisation with millions of members.

The Jakarta Post newspaper on Friday said Din made the offer during a gathering on Thursday of religious leaders.

The meeting came up with a multi-faith message of peace to be read across Indonesia ahead of three major holidays: Christmas, New Year's Day and the Islamic Day of Sacrifice on 10January 2006.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country and its Christian minority has been targeted by some hard-line Islamic groups.

The Post said more than 40 Christian houses of worship, mostly in West Java, have been closed by local authorities since 2004, in response to complaints from Muslim communities and because of a lack of clear planning procedures for the building of churches.

This year there have been strong fears that extremists might attack churches over Christmas.

But local Muslims are increasingly angry about what is being done in the name of their religion.

-- interesting response

Too bad we can't put all their Fundies and all our Fundies together in a box on an island somewhere.

It is arguable that in effect Muslims are Monophysite Christians, protesting against the Trinitarian garble imposed arbitrarily by the Roman/Byzantine government for political purposes. Once the government has you swearing you believe in that fanciful Trinity, you'll believe anything, and they can lead you anywhere. The Islamic protest took 300 years to bear fruit, but time was slower in those days. I see Islam as the first Protestant Reformation.

On Call
You can say "it is alleged" but for a LTE or something, might be good to have other examples you can document. Would make a stronger case if you were, for example, talking about censorship or about unwarranted spying or other civil liberties being curtailed.

I was really wondering, because my child clients all gave me Dollar Store Santas and Dollar Store Snowmen and every single one was "Made in China."

William Rivers Pitt has answered my question:

Santa's Chinese Elves

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/122405X.shtml
While Santa Claus lives it up with Rudolph at the North Pole, his elves have relocated to factories in southern China's atheist towns and villages.

Huffintonpost.com is reporting that Barron's is calling for impeachment.They have snip but link requires subscription.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

This is interesting philosophical speculation:

http://www.whydoesgodhateamputees.com

Something to look at if you get bored.

Another interesting dinner table topic for relatives from different religious and political persuasions:

NSA-Spying Files Bigger than White House Said

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/122405A.shtml
The National Security Agency has traced and analyzed large volumes of telephone and web communications flowing in and out of the United States as part of the eavesdropping program that President Bush approved after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Alternatively:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4557224.stm
US Mosques Checked for Radiation (by FBI)

Or make them admit Osama's niece is hot (as shown by informal poll).
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002702134_binbabe24.html

Also, Go Seahawks! (I'm supposed to say that, even though I hate football)

Merry Christmas Eve to all my friends here on the blog. Just got home from my sister's house (my very Republican sister) and received a gift of Al Franken's new book from her. Very sweet of her to cross over political lines for the holiday. We all have a lot to be thankful for this holiday- most especially, that the true nature of George W Bush has finally become apparent to the majority in this nation. That's enough of a Christmas gift for me.
Also, remember our troops over the holiday- a lot of them are far from home tonight, and pretty miserable. We trying to do our part down here in P'cola- my daughter has a marine friend who has a plane layover in Pensacola tonight on the way from one station to another, and he's spending Christmas night with us. I hope we can make it a happy one for him.
Christmas is a time to forget our differences, so Happy Hannukah, Happy winter solstice, Happy Kwanza (sp?) and Merry Christmas to you all from down here in the Southland.

The cover of the New Yorker is cool right now.
It shows people from all different religions (as surmised by their appearance) and they're all reading while waiting for planes at an airport and presumably bored.

Here you can read the Barron's article in its entirety (which takes a highly critical look at the Bush administration & their spying and the I word)

http://online.barrons.com/article_email/SB113538491760731012-lMyQjAxMDE1MzI1NDMyODQ0Wj.html

Also:

Internet Fosters Local Political Movements
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5502371,00.html

We watched "Love Actually" and "The Princess Bride" last night and felt the press of hope and happy endings close by.
Posted by: karen at December 24, 2005 11:00 AM

I really enjoyed that film. It's the kind of off-beat, funny, yet relatively unsentimental film (it is a Christmas film, after all) that an American studio would probably never release. Imagine, a Christmas movie where two people starring in a porn film fall in love. And I cheered during the scene where the Tony Blair-ish PM character played by Hugh Grant told the oafish Bush-Clinton character (played by Billy Bob Thornton) off in front of the press and TV cameras. If only the real Tony Blair had done that, instead of enabling Dubya's Dubious Adventure in Iraq.

The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers, which are cited to justify it.
President John F. Kennedy
Address to newspaper publishers April 27, 1961

The weight of History is about to come crashing down around this White House, and not a day too soon.

To all you DCPers celebrating Christmas, Hanukka, Kwanza. Soltice or just another night, the sentiment in this Christmas classic goes to you all (and if you haven't heard the James Taylor version, you're missing something):

Christmas future is far away
Christmas past is past
Christmas present is here today
Bringing joy that may last

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
May your heart be light
In a year our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the yuletide gay
In a year our troubles will be miles away

Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Precious friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more

I know that
In a year we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Until then, we'll just have to muddle through somehow
And have ourselves a merry little Christmas now.

---
Fingers crossed& that in a year our troubles WILL be miles away.
Happy Holidays, everyone.

Well, my niece and I have finished putting out the first batch of Christmas cookies for tomorrow's party. We're opening presents tonight--as is our tradition.

My niece is the president of her high school's peace club, and she told me she hoped that the FBI or NSA DID have a file on her. I told her to do an FOIA to see if they have her on file.

For my nephew, I got a "Petrolcide" t-shirt, and niece, a "Flower gun" t-shirt. We've got to keep training our future generations about how creative we can be when we fight for the right thing.

Finished our lumpia hors doevres and ready for chicken adobo and "Kingdom of Heaven" with Orlando Bloom on PPV, because we couldn't find a better movie that could explain why some Christians are in such a pickle in the Middle East. It started long ago...

Fra Giovanni penned this salutation in 1513... and it still speaks as truly to the spirit today as it did five centuries ago.

"No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in today. Take heaven!

"No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instant. Take peace!

"The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach is joy.

"There is radiance and glory in the darkness could we but see -- and to see we have only to look.

"Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty -- beneath its covering -- that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven.

"And so, at this time, I greet you.

"Not quite as the world sends greetings, but with profound esteem and with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks and the shadows flee away."

-----

And so, in this season of solstice spirits and the celebration of returning life --

To all my friends, and all my foes, and all creatures great and small; whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever you believe; however much or little you may have --

May the myriad magics of the yuletide's turning bring balm to your wounds, calm to your soul, joy to your hearth, and peace to your heart.

Even as you give, so shall you take.

Take heaven. Take hope. Take glory. Take joy.

And take peace, the most wondrous gift of them all.

blessed be,
Otter

My favorite Carol, which I didn't realize was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow until tonight:

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to m

From the Gospel According to Thomas:

1: And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

2: (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3: And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4: And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5: To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6: And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7: And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8: And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS.

9: And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

10: And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

11: And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem, after the custom of the feast.

12: And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.

13: But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances.

14: And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/JefJesu.html

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
Ans so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
And so happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
And what have we done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
Ans so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
War is over over
If you want it
War is over
Now...

To my dear DCP friends...Namaste

Merry Christmas Everyone! If my daughter doesn't fall asleep soon Santa is going to have a very long night!

Happy Holidays and all the season's best to everyone,

Chuck in Houston

PS to DiAnne: Go Seahawks!

To our DCP family:

Linda and I want to wish each of you and your family the very best of holiday wishes whether it be Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza, or whatever holiday you choose to celebrate.

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Nuevo

Some cynic sent me this:

The Twelve Days of Bushmas

On the first day of Bushmas, Dubya took from us,
the federal budget surplus.

On the second day of Bushmas, Dubya took from us,
Clean air and water, and the federal budget surplus.

On the third day of Bushmas, Dubya took from us,
three million jobs, clean air and water, and the federal budget surplus.

On the fourth day of Bushmas, Dubya took from us,
Freedom of speech, three million jobs, clean air and water, and the federal budget surplus.

On the fifth day of Bushmas, Dubya took from us,
All of our allies, freedom of speech, three million jobs, clean air and water, and the federal budget surplus.

On the sixth day of Bushmas, Dubya took from us,
Rights of privacy, all of our allies, freedom of speech, three million jobs, clean air and water, and the federal budget surplus.

On the seventh day of Bushmas, Dubya took from us, Trust in the system, rights of privacy, all of our allies, freedom of speech, three million jobs, clean air and water, and the federal budget surplus.

On the eighth day of Bushmas, Dubya took from us,
Hope for the future, trust in the system, rights of privacy, all of our allies, freedom of speech, three million jobs, clean air and water, and the federal budget surplus.

On the ninth day of Bushmas, Dubya took from us,
Overtime pay, hope for the future, trust in the system, rights of privacy, all of our allies, freedom of speech, three million jobs, clean air and water, and the federal budget surplus.

On the tenth day of Bushmas, Dubya took from us,
Well-funded schools, overtime pay, hope for the future, trust in the system, rights of privacy, all of our allies, freedom of speech, three million jobs, clean air and water, and the federal budget surplus.

On the eleventh day of Bushmas, Dubya took from us, Endangered species, well-funded schools, overtime pay, hope for the future, trust in the system, rights of privacy, all of our allies, freedom of speech, three million jobs, clean air and water, and the federal budget surplus.

On the twelfth day of Bushmas, Dubya took from us, Many soldiers' lives, endangered species, well-funded schools, overtime pay, hope for the future, trust in the system, rights of privacy, all of our allies, freedom of speech, three million jobs, clean air and water, and the federal budget surplus.

We watched "Love Actually" and "The Princess Bride" last night and felt the press of hope and happy endings close by.
Posted by: karen at December 24, 2005 11:00 AM

I really enjoyed that film. It's the kind of off-beat, funny, yet relatively unsentimental film (it is a Christmas film, after all) that an American studio would probably never release. Imagine, a Christmas movie where two people starring in a porn film fall in love.

Posted by: Matthew Carnicelli at December 24, 2005 07:20 PM

Well, well, earlier today, before I ever read this thread, I ventured to the movie rental outlet and rented "Love Actually". I got rave reviews at either the Golden Globes or the Oscars one year, and I have heard Matthew mention it before. I can't wait to watch it, although I know it won't be tonight.

Bed time.

Good Cheer, everyone. We are on the dawn of a new day!!

I also got "Phantom of the Opera" to watch a second time, it is released on DVD now.

Also, if you can find it, and you just want a Christmas holiday film that is just funny, don't forget "Mixed Nuts" with Steve Martin and Adam Sandler and Madelyn Kahn. It is all in the timing, but it is a scream. Has a huge hilarious cast.

I lost my internet a few days ago, so I'm playing catch up.

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah.

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

--Calvin Coolidge

It's easy to forget that Allah, Jehovah, and Jesus all spring from the same spiritual fountain. Muslims, Jews, and Christians all incorporate the same core of ancient writings into their respective holy books. The Koran, the Talmud, and the Old Testament are a shared legacy for all three of the great religions that arose from the Middle East.

Muslims recognize Jesus as a true prophet of Allah, as they do Mohammed. Jews also recognize Jesus as a true prophet of Jehovah; like the Muslims, however, they do not consider him to be the only son of God.

The roots of the three religions are planted in the same soil and share a common trunk. The branches are intertwined, even today. If more people paid attention to the similarities instead of the differences there, it would be a much more peaceful world.

And the world's other great religions share common roots as well. The Native Americans, the Celts and Druids, the earth-based mystics of Europe and the Far East -- all recognize and honor the the ever-turning circle of the seasons, the cycle of rebirth, the wheel of life.

And so it is good that we can recognize and appreciate the overlapping beliefs and rituals and customs that all seem to blur together at this time of the year -- when the death of winter gives birth to the life of spring, as the Wheel turns once more.

-----

Queen of the Moon, Queen of the Sun,
Queen of the Heavens, Queen of the Stars,
Queen of the Waters, Queen of the Earth,
Bring to us the Child of Promise!

It is the Great Mother who gives birth to Him;
It is the Lord of Life who is born again.
Darkness and tears are set aside
When the Sun shall come up early.

Golden Sun of hill and mountain,
Illumine the land, illumine the world,
Illumine the seas, illumine the rivers,
Sorrows be laid, joy to the world!

Blessed be the Great Goddess,
Without beginning, without ending,
Everlasting to eternity.
Io Evoe! Heh! Blessed be!

-----

peace on earth and good will to all,
Otter

Posted by: Otter at December 25, 2005 10:09 AM

Nice Otter.

We definitely need more understanding of shared values and empathy.

All I want for Christmas is to be kidnapped by aliens..

Because I can think of no better way to spend the holidays than being probed by a higher life form.

My 2006 wish:

Yo quiero el presendencia nuevo

Here is one place they spy from:

(I heard Bamford on NPR, & he has written a book on the NSA)

FOCUS | James Bamford: NSA, the Agency That Could Be Big Brother
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/122505Y.shtml
Deep in a remote, fog-layered hollow near Sugar Grove, W.Va., hidden by fortress-like mountains, sits the country's largest eavesdropping bug. Located in a "radio quiet" zone, the station's large parabolic dishes secretly and silently sweep in millions of private telephone calls and e-mail messages an hour.