2 Dec 06

OK, I'll do my best to not sound like a giddy little teenager, but Jen and I got to meet and yap a little with BT (www.btmusic.com) tonight after his live performance of "This Binary Universe"--which is, slightly to the contrary, full of all kinds of analog instruments. (And answers the age old question of "How Many Macs does it take to run a concert"?)

<img src="http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000G8OZ16.01._SS400_SCLZZZZZZZ_V39659554_.jpg" height="100" width="100" border="1" hspace="4" vspace="4" alt="B000G8Oz16.01. Ss400 Sclzzzzzzz V39659554 " />

More details tomorrow (it *is* 3am now), but he had high words of praise for Tori Amos and Kirsty Hawkshaw, and asked me to contact him on his private DeviantArt profile. He signed my copy of "This Binary Universe" while I was trying to stutter out my questions, much to my delight.

All in all, the concert was beyond impressive, he was a delight to meet and chat with, and it was well worth the energy expenditure that'll prolly put me in bed for a few days.

29 Oct 06

Holy Frak! I knew it was bad, with the perma-campaigns, the pork, and the outright fraud...But I never imagined that in a thousand years it could get this bad on the hill...

In my HS days I got the opportunity to attend a Washington Workshops program--I got to attend meetings with my congressman, meet various VIPs, do some minor errand work. It really gave me an inside view into the workings (or lack thereof) into our government. Descriptions of the hill now are almost completely foreign to my own experience. It's simultaneously scary and fascinating that an American institution could change so rapidly.

So, in all of its shame, here's the RollingStone's handy 5-step guide to creating our country's all-time worst legislature.

read more | digg story

28 Oct 06

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Warning: This post contains unadulterated American Political Opinion, Fact, Historical References, and Law.

Consider wourself warned!</span>


EDIT 2: IANAL, but after reading this I think we, the American People, are well and truly fscked. Any lawyers have any insights into the text of this bill?

This scares the holy pediddle out of me, worse than any nightmare monster than Hollywood can dream up. All my instincts say that its not coincidence that this was snuck into the Defense Authorization Act (the DAA, the normal annual defense budget) and signed on the same day as the Military Commissions Act (MCA).

There's been quite an uproar about the MCA -- how it suspends Habeas Corpus and how it allows anyone, even an American citizen in America, to be declared an "Enemy Combatant" (if said citizen violates their "allegience" to the current administration, much like the 1933 German Enabling Act). But while we were all paying attention (rightfully) to the MCA, it looks like something far more insidious has been signed into law. (The DAA is huge, and no Senator or Representative ever reads the whole thing, especially in detail)

This just sends chills up and down my spine....and makes me want to go hole up somewhere "off the grid". Just in case the 1938 pogroms are repeated. You know, jus' in case.

'Cause the current admin has a list and they definitely haven't checked it twice.

From Slashdot:

Bush Signs Bill Enabling Martial Law:

..."a new law that President Bush signed on Oct. 17. It seems to allow the President to impose martial law on any state or territory, using federal troops and/or the state's own, or other states', National Guard troops. From the article: "In a stealth maneuver, President Bush has signed into law a provision which, according to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), will actually encourage the President to declare federal martial law. It does so by revising the Insurrection Act, a set of laws that limits the President's ability to deploy troops within the United States. The Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C.331 -335) has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385), helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush is seeking to undo those prohibitions."

Here is a link to the bill in question. The relevant part is Sec. 1076 about 3/4 of the way down the page.

(The link to the bill is currently down, so here's a quote from the bill I was able to nab from Cryptogon)

Section 1076...is entitled, "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies." Section 333, "Major public emergencies; interference with State and Federal law" states that "the President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of ("refuse" or "fail" in) maintaining public order, "in order to suppress, in any State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy."

EDIT: OK, found a ./temp/%7Ec109m6KxFo:e939907:"link to the applicable section of the DAA on THOMAS at the Library of Congress. This is straight from the bill that was signed by the president and is now law:

SEC. 1076. USE OF THE ARMED FORCES IN MAJOR PUBLIC EMERGENCIES.

(a) Use of the Armed Forces Authorized-

(1) IN GENERAL- Section 333 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

<h4>`Sec. 333. Major public emergencies; interference with State and Federal law</h4>

`(a) Use of Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies- (1) The President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to--

`(A) restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that--

`(i) domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of maintaining public order; and

`(ii) such violence results in a condition described in paragraph (2); or

`(B) suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy if such insurrection, violation, combination, or conspiracy results in a condition described in paragraph (2).

`(2) A condition described in this paragraph is a condition that--

`(A) so hinders the execution of the laws of a State or possession, as applicable, and of the United States within that State or possession, that any part or class of its people is deprived of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law, and the constituted authorities of that State or possession are unable, fail, or refuse to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, or to give that protection; or

`(B) opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.

`(3) In any situation covered by paragraph (1)(B), the State shall be considered to have denied the equal protection of the laws secured by the Constitution.

`(b) Notice to Congress- The President shall notify Congress of the determination to exercise the authority in subsection (a)(1)(A) as soon as practicable after the determination and every 14 days thereafter during the duration of the exercise of that authority.'.

(2) PROCLAMATION TO DISPERSE- Section 334 of such title is amended by inserting `or those obstructing the enforcement of the laws' after `insurgents'.

(3) HEADING AMENDMENT- The heading of chapter 15 of such title is amended to read as follows:

<h3>`CHAPTER 15--ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS TO RESTORE PUBLIC ORDER'.</h3>

(4) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS- (A) The tables of chapters at the beginning of subtitle A of title 10, United States Code, and at the beginning of part I of such subtitle, are each amended by striking the item relating to chapter 15 and inserting the following new item:

331'.

(B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 15 of such title is amended by striking the item relating to sections 333 and inserting the following new item:

`333. Major public emergencies; interference with State and Federal law.'.

(b) Provision of Supplies, Services, and Equipment-

(1) IN GENERAL- Chapter 152 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

<h4>`Sec. 2567. Supplies, services, and equipment: provision in major public emergencies</h4>

`(a) Provision Authorized- In any situation in which the President determines to exercise the authority in section 333(a)(1)(A) of this title, the President may direct the Secretary of Defense<span style="background-color: yellow;"></span> to provide supplies, services, and equipment to persons affected by the situation.

`(b) Covered Supplies, Services, and Equipment- The supplies, services, and equipment provided under this section may include food, water, utilities, bedding, transportation, tentage, search and rescue, medical care, minor repairs, the removal of debris, and other assistance necessary for the immediate preservation of life and property.

`(c) Limitations- (1) Supplies, services, and equipment may be provided under this section--

`(A) only to the extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession concerned are unable to provide such supplies, services, and equipment, as the case may be; and

`(B) only until such authorities, or other departments or agencies of the United States charged with the provision of such supplies, services, and equipment, are able to provide such supplies, services, and equipment.

`(2) The Secretary may provide supplies, services, and equipment under this section only to the extent that the Secretary determines that doing so will not interfere with military preparedness or ongoing military operations or functions.

`(d) Inapplicability of Certain Authorities- The provision of supplies, services, or equipment under this section shall not be subject to the provisions of section 403(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act<span style="background-color: yellow;"></span> (42 U.S.C. 5170b(c)).'.

(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT- The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

`2567. Supplies, services, and equipment: provision in major public emergencies'.

(c) Conforming Amendment- Section 12304(c)(1) of such title is amended by striking `No unit' and all that follows through `subsection (b),' and inserting `Except to perform any of the functions authorized by chapter 15 or section 12406 of this title or by subsection (b), no unit or member of a reserve component may be ordered to active duty under this section'

17 Oct 06

<div>OK, here's my new bio. It's not gibberish, it's not just bad poetry, it all has meaning, and it describes pieces of my past, present, and future.</div><div>
</div><div>Can anyone (other than jen) guess/interpret/figure out the meanings? It obviously doesn't cover *all*, but if the mood strikes me, I may do more in mixed form.</div><div>
</div>

<div>I was once a boy, an explorer and a flyer. Now my wings have been cut but the ice and the peaks beckon me whenever I open my eyes.</div><div>
</div><div>I created whole languages out of the aether, enabling those who were blind to see -- the world not as it is, but as it is perceived.</div><div>
</div><div>Seeing the waters, with the fish swimming in the bathtubs, I ran, back to the parched peaks, where my spirit soared, though my body slowed.</div><div>
</div><div>rone sometimes, vertical othertimes, the aspens whisper as the days pass. The cottonwoods answer with their seed flying in the air. I stumble on the bridge, betwixt both, their discourse washing over me.</div><div>
</div><div>It may take aeons, but the messages are heard, the lessons taught, and the world percieved melds with the world as-is.</div>
<div>
</div>

10 Sept 06

Dr Paul Cheney has been filmed giving a talk on CFS and heart malfunction. In the video, Dr Cheney explores the correlation between CFS patients and a malfunction with their hearts left ventriculars function. It seems that this malfunction causes the heart not to fill with as much blood, therefore the output is much decreased. This is called mild Diastolic Dysfunction - Grade 1. This condition cannot be picked up by a normal ECG. However, it is important to stress that Dr Cheney believes that this type of dysfunction is not a life-threatening disease.

The video, although very interesting, is rather long. I recommend you let it download, walk away and make a cup of tea, and go back to it regularly for viewing.

Take a look here