Office security

I Like Both of These Quotes

I hate traveling by air now that we have all of this stupid security in place. I do most anything I can to avoid it. The following is from Cory Doctorow on Boing Boing...

I like this Bruce Schneier quote from a CNN article on the TSA's new whole body scanner, which lets TSA inspectors look at your genitals through your clothes:

"It's stupid to spend money so terrorists can change plans," he said by phone from Poland, where he was speaking at a conference. If terrorists are swayed from going through airports, they'll just target other locations, such as a hotel in Mumbai, India, he said.

"We'd be much better off going after bad guys ... and back to pre-9/11 levels of airport security," he said. "There's a huge 'cover your ass' factor in politics, but unfortunately, it doesn't make us safer."

Blackwater Gets The Boot

Blackwater is a private security firm (mercenaries) who provide security for private firms operating in Iraq, and body guard functions for private, foreign workers in Iraq. They have not had a very good reputation as some of their employees seem to be a little bit "gun-crazy."

Here's a clip from Mother Jones - click the link to read more...

The Iraqi government, taking advantage of the autonomy granted by the Status of Forces Agreement that went into effect January 1, has informed US officials that it will not be renewing Blackwater's operating license, according to this morning's Washington Post. This does not come as a shock—the firm has been in Baghdad's sights since at least September 2007, when its contractors opened fire in a traffic circle, killing 17 and wounding 24 others. The Iraqi government's first attempt to boot Blackwater from the country came just days after the shootings when it revoked the company's license, but US officials (enjoying a bit more authority at the time) simply ignored the order and went on to reaffirm Blackwater's presence the following April, much to the Iraqis' displeasure.

Blackwater has a short grace period as Baghdad finishes a draft of new guidelines that will govern the operations of private contractors. As Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Adbul-Karim Khalaf told the Post, "When the work of this committee ends, [private firms] will be under the authority of the Iraqi government, and those companies that don't have licenses, such as Blackwater, should leave immediately."

Security "You Were Out" Memo Pad Under The Republicans

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Warning

After years of warnings and fear-mongering by the Bush administration, I wonder what it will be like with Barack at the helm? Will we still have security colors? Has the damn thing ever changed from orange?

Watching You

Did You Know - Homeland Security

The Republican only love Homwland Security if they can direct the money to their friends.

The House on Friday approved the spending of $37.4 billion next year
by the Department of Homeland Security, calling for significantly more spending than proposed by the Bush administration, including hundreds of millions in extra state and local antiterrorism grants.

President Bush has threatened to veto such a package, saying that it is too expensive and that it includes provisions, like a requirement that department contractors pay their employees more competitive wages, that he opposes. The Senate has not yet passed the legislation.

From the New York Times.

Fun Photos - President Bush

This might explain a lot about his delusions of grandeur.

I think one of the issues that upsets so many Iraqis about the behavior of the U.S. is our plan to set up permanent bases in Iraq.

At long last - good advice from the White House!

Political Posters

Political Messages

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