Prisoners without Trials – Blumner: Treatment of Guantanamo prisoners unprecedented in U.S. In the 1660s, England’s Lord Clarendon was in the habit of sending prisoners to remote islands and military garrisons in order to put them out of reach of the due process protections afforded by English courts. For these misdeeds, Clarendon was impeached, and in 1679 Parliament passed the Habeas Corpus Act, which made it illegal to ship prisoners away to deprive them of their rights. It appears the Bush administration never got that memo. Just an “oh ho!” moment after following up on a detail from This American…
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BBC NEWS | Americas | Shoe alert shuts New York airport New York’s LaGuardia airport was evacuated and flights were halted for about two hours after a man’s shoe set off a false alarm during screening. A search was launched for the man after he was allowed to pass through security despite setting off the alarm for explosives residue. Oh, so that’s what it was. The really troubling thing is that after he was selected for secondary screening, he put his shoes on and walked away. Somebody screwed up, royally, by not keeping an eye on him the whole time,…
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I just heard Jon Ronson on This American Life, in a piece about Lord Clarendon, his resting place at Westiminster Abbey, and the legal concept of Habeas Corpus, which is relevant to the issue of Guantanamo prisoners held indefinitely, without access to lawyers, information, or with any hope of a fair trial or release. It was amazing, because the conversation he had with a guide at the Abbey about Clarendon and the Puritans, who were the theocratic-dominionist Religious Right of their day put a lot of historical perspective on current events. And I could swear that David, his guide, could…
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Care for Upper Respiratory Infections What Are The Symptoms of URI? Scratchy or sore throat Sneezing, runny nose, and nasal congestion Cough Watery eyes Ear congestion Slight fever (99 to 100ºF or 37.2 to 37.8ºC) Fatigue Headache Loss of appetite Pooey. It’s the weekend, and I’m sick with a URI of some kind. No aches or that “ill” feeling, so it’s probably a cold. It’s been coming all week, ever since our return from Maui. I thought at first that my allergies were kicking in, because of all the *#&$!%%ing perfume at work. And maybe it was, at first, but…
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I’m listening to WWDTM just now on WBEZ and they had Scott Simon on playing their “Not My Job” game. His subject: “Painter of Light” Thomas Kinkade (REGISTERED TRADEMARK). As soon as Peter said “Kinkade,” “LA Times,” and hints of the chiaroscurity of Kinkade’s doings in private life, I had to Google it. Because, of course, I can’t stand Kinkade or his crappy drek, which is all over Lahaina in multiple galleries on both sides of the street. Dark Portrait of a ‘Painter of Light’ – Los Angeles Times Amongst his more colorful (and beautifully depicted) acts: he got loudly…
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I’m part of this group on Flick. One or two of my photos from Maui may be good enough to be matched to a known whale, like this one. This photo ended up on the site blog, demonstrating “the power of Flickr.“ Crossposted to Razzberry Vinaigrette. Via: Flickr Title: Humpback Whale, Newfoundland By: George K Originally uploaded: 18 Jan ’06, 9.34pm PST Taken 6/29/03, off Trinity, Newfoundland
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Salt Lake Tribune copy editor and headline writer Robert Ellefson died Tuesday of pneumonia. From the sound of it, he started out at City News Bureau, since his bio includes a stint at the Chicago Sun-Times. City News was owned by the Sun-Times’ arch-rival the Chicago Tribune, but nearly every young reporter spent some time “checking it out” at the News. He sounds like a rare character for Utah, and I wish I’d known him. -30-
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Chicago Tribune | Ethnic groups rally for immigrant rights and against HR4337, which places much stricter guidelines for immigration. It is opposed by a broad spectrum of church, labor, and minority-rights groups. It is supported by… “people” like the Minutemen and a group called the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which sounds much more tasteful and level-headed than the “Keep the dam’ furrin wetbacks out” Club. Immigrants: 100,000. Minutemen: Oh, about t’ree or four. The large turnout was partly in response to urgings from the Chicago Catholic Archdiocese, evangelical and socially-progressive churches, and a Hispanic radio announcer called “El Pistolero,”…
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The TSA is really working hard to keep us safe and secure when traveling… I checked around just now because of rumors of a security breech at Laguardia Airport in the Delta terminal, and found my way to the Transportation Security Administration’s “security checkpoint wait times” site. They’re so tightly wired, they’re warning about delays for the Fourth of July weekend. Now that’s thinking ahead. TSA | Transportation Security Administration | Wait Times Due to the increased passenger traffic expected at airports over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, you may encounter wait times at the security checkpoints that are…
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I’ve been sending a few friends and family invites to Flickr, because heck, I want some contacts that I actually know personally, in addition to the interesting but kind of anonymous people I’ve got on my contacts list. I have a few friends and only one family member on there so far… and seeing as I’ve got a great-niece whose probably got a lot of pictures wanting to be looked at, and friends are buying houses and having babies and what not, I should probably be more in the loop. Here’s my Flickr page: GinnyRED57. I also use the same…