An Internet Globetrotter

photos by Gary D. Brune (c) copyright 2008

The gravity of 9-11-01 still rings through this country as we honor the people who lost their lives on this day. The Paradise Veteran’s Council will set up a circle of flags at the Veteran’s Hall today.

The gravity of this day is personal for me, as the radio reminds me what happened seven years ago, just like it reported the events that Monday. My wife and I were as shocked about the events as they transpired as the rest of this country, just as those of us who do remember where we were when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

The gravity of 9-11 reverberates through the land today. One of the first actions congress subsequently took was to pass the Patriot Act. A mindset was imposed on us -national security is now as much a concern as the Bill of Rights. Our computers and emails are monitored, cheaper high definition cameras are now on the street, in police officers’ badges, and will soon be linked with their tazer weapons.

The result is that technology has, in effect, obsoleted the Constitution of the United States. The citizens are still afraid, and think nothing of going through airport screenings. Their common line of reasoning is that as long as they do nothing wrong, they have nothing to worry about.

Balderdash! The privacy of the American citizen should be more precious than their paycheck, more guarded than our borders, and more of an ideal to them than the Bill of Rights.

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

it crossed the New York Times silicon this morning that they have a new security program under the headline of "City Would Photograph Every Vehicle Entering Manhattan and Sniff Out Radioactivity". Project Sentinel will install over 3,000 public and private security cameras to keep track of traffic in the moneyed section of New York City, Manhattan.

This isn't any different from the new camera badges approved for Paradise Police. While the official excuse for both is Homeland Security, which will satisfy most of the pigeons out there, the real reason these measures exist is to collect information and intimidate the citizenry. As long as the powers that be can keep the masses at arms length from the classes, they can exploit the masses without worry.

I've already written on this as all of the technology used here, until directly challenged in the United States Supreme Court, has in effect obsoleted the Constitution of the United States. When did security become one of the Bill of Rights, or for that matter its need become part of the Constitution? Is life more important than honor?

Or more likely, is all this a means to keep the people in control so that any possible objection to what they want to do will be flagged for early warning so that they can do something about it without difficulty, or without serious consequence to the uber-rich?

One of my jpgmag correspondents calls pigeons rats with wings. but as this picture shows, even they have concerns. Well, if the shoe fits...

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 02:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

My favorite point of irony just changed hands. The Money Saver on Fair Street in Chico is now a Beacon to the ongoing rush to $5 a gallon gasoline. It's starting out with a comparably low price, but that won't be around long.

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As Toni Scott reported in the Enterprise-Record yesterday “Regardless if you are a same-sex couple or a traditional bride and groom, the Butte County Clerk's Office is one place where you can no longer get married.

“Butte County Clerk Candace Grubbs said the action has nothing to do with gay marriage and everything to do with money. “

The problem is this decision made Statewide news reports on KGO radio out of San Francisco. Last night Christine Craft did an hour on Grubb's announcement. Craft called this an act of prejudice and excoriated Grubb, suggesting she should resign her post and hire on as a church clerk,

In the only time that Butte County makes statewide news aside from the Oroville fire, this decision makes us a laughing stock. As Craft said Grubb is not working for a religious organization, but for the government which represents everybody, and is responsible to all citizens of Butte County.

Grubb is right about one thing. This is about money. Same sex marriage is a new funding source for local government, as Craft pointed out. So one of the poorest counties in California is doing this?

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 01:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It is interesting when a note from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appears in the morning email. He wrote me in response to a dispatch I sent concerning the budget issues concerning California State University, Chico. He made a few points beginning with;

“California is blessed with one of the world's most dynamic and diverse economies, but when it comes to the state budget process, we are highly dysfunctional. The economic slowdown and autopilot state spending have created a budget shortfall of $3.3 billion for the current fiscal year, and it could grow to an estimated $14.5 billion by July 2009.”

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

His main concern seems to be, after two attempts to reform the budget process, to deal with fixed expenditures which are part of this process. He believes that these elements are the main reason the budget is out of balance. He proposed a 10 percent across-the-board to nearly every General Fund program from 2008-09 levels.

“ I am proud that higher education spending will still increase”, he wrote, “by $1.6 billion-bringing its total funding level to $21.7 billion. This includes $5.5 billion for the University of California System, a net increase of $81.3 million; $4.4 billion for our California State Universities, a net increase of $35.1 million; and $9.1 billion for our California Community Colleges, an increase of $146.5 million”

In order to fix what he calls a budget mess, Governor Schwarzenegger wants to propose an automatic mechanism that would trigger lower funding levels already approved by the Legislature equivalent to the deficit.

This is another case of fixed programs not addressing the problems that inevitably occur during the budget year. It takes judgment out of the hand of the people we elect to fix California's difficulties.

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 03:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Has this country gone completely daft? While riding the B-Line this morning, I caught this price on the corner of Skyway and Wagstaff, a sure indication that the $5 end of summer price prediction is likely to be reality.

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

As a starving student at Chico State, I haven't had the money to run a car for quite some time. Still, I held onto the hope that such a convenience would come my way. Prices like this completely dash the dream and confine me to a bus driver as chauffeur for the foreseeable future.

While walking slowly on the streets of the Ridge, I see all these bricks with wheels speeding past and muse on how they can afford to keep their piece of the road running. The traffic hasn't seemed to have diminished over the last couple of months so there must be an out somewhere.

Another writer I read this morning ranted about the increased cost of corn flakes. With me it's wheat bread and meat, but everything else I can eat increases its presence in my budget as well. And yet there is no movement yet to do anything about this.

The sign I pictured here is from Conoco/Phillips Union 76, all of which used to be separate service stations. Isn't this the way things got out of control a hundred years ago when the reformist movement broke up Big Oil? I fear what will happen when the American people reach their breaking point this time.

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 01:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

photos by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

This is a thank you to Bob Barrett, whose information proved to be correct, Commander Thor Sparre of American Legion Post 259 who put me on this story, and David Little of the Enterprise Record, whose timely Blog Log post got Jay Sulzmann from Representative Wally Herger's office to overcome technical difficulties and relay the report that H.R. 3380 has been passed by Congress and was signed into law

Yes Mr. Barret, veterans can now salute the flag in or out of uniform.

Veterans in Paradise celebrated Memorial Day by raising 13 flags at the Veteran's Hall and firing off a 21 gun salute at the Memorial Day ceremonies at the Paradise Cemetery.

To quote from Sulzman's dispatch this morning; "I wanted to let you know that the text of H.R. 3380 has actually passed Congress and become law. It was included as Section 594 of H.R. 4986, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2008, which was signed into law by President Bush on January 28 of this year. I believe the language was originally added as an amendment by Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma when the bill was going through the Senate.

This information is a wonderful way to celebrate Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

San Francisco Radio Station KGO has announced the former and long time talk show host Bernie Ward has, on advice of his attorney, agreed to plea guilty to the charges filed against him on December 7 by the Bush Justice Department.

The effect of this federal victory is that significant criticism of the federal government has been quashed, our rage over being screwed by high gas prices has been silenced, and any voice of protest has been muted. The conservatives and republicans have won with their complete domination of the media.

And this is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 08:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright 2008

For those who remember when I first started this weblog, back in September I wrote on the upcoming Chico Transit Center. At the time it seemed to be political costume jewelry, with a major oversight built into it.

As this afternoon's storm ushered in the new transit center, which the B-Line started using yesterday, the disparity between the city bus passengers and their county brethren is even more apparent. To the left of this shot, we have the transit center, while to the right we see a county passenger on one of three green benches set down on Normal last week.

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright 2007

The bear above supervises the upcoming California primary, but the fix may have already been laid in for the citizens of my state and this country. When we vote in November, my prediction is that we will have a race between Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

If New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg enters as an independent, he will siphon those votes from the Clinton campaign, just as his predecessors did in 1988 and again in 2000. That will lead to Senator McCain raising his hand over the bible on January 20, 2009, and being sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.

That will benefit the uber-rich, because the Congress shall remain Democratic and we will end up with four years of stagnant government. The result that none of the damage that George Bush, our generation's Calvin Coolidge (the president who put us into the Great Depression) will be overturned, Silicon Slavery shall fall upon the land, and those in power shall celebrate the Roaring Teens.

And may God have mercy on our souls.

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

photo by Gary D, Brune copyright 2007

Radio talk show host Bernie Ward, a long-time critic of the George Bush administration and the uber-rich, was fired tonight from his position, according to KGO-TV. Ward dominated the late-night radio airwaves for KGO 810AM until the Federal Government filed an indictment of child pornography against him on December 7, 2007.

After the indictment was filed, Ward was immediately removed from the airwaves and the legal department of KGO's parent company MediaSpan Network immediately sent word down to the radio staff that any discussion of the Ward case would lead to suspension from the air. As a result, there is no mention of Ward whatsoever.

Continue reading "Bernie Ward was silenced by the Feds" »

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 04:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 15, 2008 is one of the darkest days in this election cycle when at about 1800 hours, the Nevada courts reversed its earlier ruling and said that MSNBC did not have to have Dennis Kucinich in their debate in Las Vegas this evening.

As of today, we are looking at the greatest reality television series not only of the year, but in this country's history. This presidential election will go down as a cross between American Gladiator and Survivor, but with all the bloodletting being part of the public consumption. This may be perfectly appropriate for our society in that we pay more attention to American Idol than to what really should matter to us

The dog-and-pony show that aired tonight on MSNBC was a discussion among the three Democratic candidates vetted by the rich, and fully in the hip pocket of the uber-rich. Given the vetted candidates of the Republican Party, and these people featured tonight, there is no one amongst them with a lick of caring for us poor folks.

History has recorded that almost every American President has lied to his people during his term. One of these people will raise their hand over the bible in a little over a year and will do whatever their backers deem necessary to screw us over including lie to us.

The question that arises is simple -why should I participate in this election when I have no serious voice therein?

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 09:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright 2008

Today is January 15 and because of the little “whiny” presidential candidate, Dennis Kucinich, we're being reminded that the current election cycle is already brought down to the candidates approved by the uber-rich. According to the New York Times, Kucinich went to court and forced MSNBC to include him in tonight's Democratic Party debate. This is democratic?

Given the experiences of Republican Candidate Ron Paul and Kucinich, we clearly see that the rich and well-to-do are telling the people of the United States of America the candidates they approve of and will allow to become president. Which means we have over ten months to argue about candidate that will not threaten those in power.

Continue reading "Canopy of the empty tree. Where's our protection?" »

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 01:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright 2008

The United States Constitution has been rescinded by technology, and the poor people of the world need to book passage to the modern equivalent of Devil's Island. The result therein is that this election is, for all intents and purposes, meaningless. It will be an exercise of sound and fury signifying nothing.

The Military Channel's Futureweapons has revealed the seondary reason for our current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just before World War Two the European powers engaged in the Spanish Civil War, where they tested out the latest weapons technology of the day. Our forces are doing the same thing overseas today, except they are developing non-lethal technology.

For example, in five years or so, Butte County law enforcement agencies will have the latest unmanned air vehicles. These UAVs will have the best available optics for the cameras on board that can relay any information the police want wherever they want it. These UAVs will be cheap, can stay in the air for days if necessary, and will be as silent as the wind, thus making them undetectable from the ground.

Continue reading "The fog is clearing in Paradise" »

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 08:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today Lou Dobbs reports that New York City's mayor Michael Bloomberg is investigating whether he should run for president this year. All I have to say is beware of the one-eyed jack.
In 1988, when George Herbert Walker Bush ran for president, Ross Perot ran as an independent candidate. While Perot did not win a single state that year, his candidacy lead to Bush, the former head of the Central Intelligence Agency, being sworn in as President.
Twelve years later, when George Walker Bush ran for president, Ralph Nader cast his hat into the ring for the Green Party. That candidacy lead to W being sworn in, and our current national predicament.
Perot and Nader drew independent voters to their campaigns, and after the elections of 1988 and 2000, these men have more or less disappeared from the national scene.

Continue reading "A tree is threatened in Paradise" »

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I said yesterday, except now with 300 days and three votes in California towards the 2008 Presidential Election, I hate when I'm right, or when I remember things from high school. No matter what the spinsters say, this election is about one thing – money. How much of it can the uber-rich collect?
After Richard Nixon beat George McGovern for president in 1972, this country had the first of its fuel crisis. Lines at gas stations were common and drivers were told they could only buy gasoline when the last number of their license plate fell on an odd or even day.. Nixon declared that this country would go on a course towards energy independence. That was then and this is now with new buzz phrases, but the same old talk.
Fast forward to when President Bill Clinton was himself facing impeachment charges. What history tells me is that the only thing that saved him from being removed from office was the 10,000 point Dow. His backers were making a lot of money, so they let him finish out his term.
In 1999 it became clear to me that not only George Bush would be nominated for President, he would win. What made that apparent was that the next president would make over 300,000 a year. Federal law indicates that a sitting president cannot raise their own salary. However, towards the end of his administration, Lyndon Baines Johnson made a deal with Nixon – Nixon's salary as president would go up if Johnson's retirement benefits went up.

Continue reading "A tree falls in Paradise" »

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

photograph by Gary D. Brune copyright 2007

It sometimes is hard to deal with being right. The photograph above I took on November 20 of last year at the K-Mart store in Paradise because I reasoned that the Sears Holding Company by investing in the signs on the stucco wall doomed the trees in front of them. After Christmas, eight trees were felled in front of this K-Mart.

It shows the attitude of our capitalistic society. Nothing shall stand in the way of business making as many dollars as possible.

I just watched the rebroadcast of the New Hampshire debate between the Republican and Democratic campaigns for President, and here, with 302 days to the November election, this will end up being the most over-analyzed campaign in history. I'll have to wade through 302 days and three votes here in California, and what will prevent me from being burned out on this campaign and election.

During the Republican segment, a significant bit of time was spent on both health care, with the candidates branding government health care such as Medicare as socialist, and immigration, again with the candidates saying that we are a country that is run by the rule of law and that all immigrants should wait in line at the border for their opportunity to come into this country.

Continue reading "A tree fell in Paradise" »

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to today's San Francisco Chronicle, a disturbing procedure will appear before all the justices of the California State Supreme Court. The report, written by Bob Egelko, said the court “agreed Wednesday to decide whether the San Francisco 49ers invade their fans' privacy by conducting pat-down searches at the stadium gates, a measure ordered by the National Football League to catch potential terrorists”.

This was first addressed this summer by a three judge panel of the court, and was brought by a 49er fan who was disturbed by the procedure handed down by the NFL. That panel ruled in favor of the NFL with the reasoning that by coming to the game, every person tacitly agrees to be searched because they elect to go to the game voluntarily.

The procedure which is similar to the searches that airline and other transit users undergo, has yet to go before the United States Supreme Court. It is good that the American Civil Liberties Union has brought this up the judicial ladder to get a ruling.

I posted this at SFGate earlier this morning because it is clear that these searches violate the probable cause rules of the US Constitution. Until the High Court rules on this, I will be ruled by the Constitution of the United States rather than by fear.

Continue reading "The constitutionality of NFL searches debated" »

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last weekend Ted Koppel, formerly of ABC's Nightline, broadcast a program on the Discovery Channel about the overcrowded California prison system. One of koppel's ironic segments followed a parolee from his prison cell to the community where he was released to – Oroville.

What was ironic about this report is that, unless Butte county District Attorney Mike Ramsey successfully negotiates a plea from Greg Wright which means that he will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole, after an extensive prison sentence, the 17 year old boy that allegedly raised hell at Las Plumas High School will be paroled – to Oroville.

Since it is more likely that Wright will get paroled than he will spend a life term in California prisons, unless he gets a General Education Degree in prison, he will be one of those uneducated prisoners on merry-go-round with one end in society and the other inprison. He might be one of the lucky individuals who will get a college degree in prison, but more likely he will be released with $200, a bus ticket, maybe some money earned from prison employment, no training, into one of the poorest communities in California.

Continue reading "Teen facing lifetime imprisonment, part two" »

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earlier this summer, I did a piece about how our electronic money is watching us. The problem is that silicon has a trace on and controls so much of the citizen's money that if there is a problem like Wells Fargo had in August, where their network crashed, we will be unable to get any money out of the bank.

There will not be a run on the banks in that event because without computers, they will be able to do nothing. The money in the bank is safe, but citizens are screwed, to quote Thom Hartmann.

Please bear with me as I revisit my August article;

In yesterday's news, Wells Fargo had its national monetary operations hindered by a glitch in its nationwide computer network. Individual customers could not access their money at the branch level or at many automatic teller machines. According to Datawire at computerwire.com, it is ranked sixth among the top 15 national banks with almost $482 billion in assets.

Continue reading "I always feel like somebody's watching me, Part three" »

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With today's technology the government can monitor our e-mail and eventually all computerized documents without ever needing a search warrant. All individual e-mails can be screened and neither the sender nor receiver will know. This all could be done legally.

The other day, when I set up a client's Internet browser to receive AT&T/Yahoo e-mail, my client worried about losing recent e-mails. When I accessed my client's page, there was a mirror image of all the recent messages that person received over the last several months, fully accessible on Yahoo's home servers.

I first noticed this practice when setting up a Google Gmail account. Creating the account was much easier than I expected, and in the process, I found that Google saves all e-mails on its servers, which the account holder can read by signing in. Unlike older services, such as Juno, which downloads one's e-mails to his or her own computer, Google advertises this service as being accessible from any location.

Continue reading "I always feel like somebody's watching me, part two" »

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 01:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday a disturbing e-mail crossed my silicon from the Washington Post concerning China Security and Surveillance Technology, a corporation in China that will soon become part of the New York Stock Exchange. Today is my birthday in China, so I ran the firm's name in the index of China Daily, and came up with four pages of articles.

The notion of electronic surveillance and surveillance on the Internet has been launched as a formal campaign of the Chinese government. Referred to as the Beiging Internet Police, a cartoon pair of police in a stylized car will have the mission to be on the watch for websites that incite secession, promote superstition, gambling and fraud.

'"It is our duty to wipe out information that does public harm and disrupts social order," Zhao Hongzhi, deputy chief of the bureau's Internet surveillance center, said.”

Continue reading "I always feel like somebody's watching me" »

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 06:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over two years ago I published the notion that if all the 12 million illegal immigrants were rich, we wouldn't have any problem here. But since we deal with the poor, we would rather that they be sent home to die rather than live in this country.

I watched an episode of Hotel Babylon on BBC America where they dealt with illegal immigrants as predators would deal with a herd. The immigration officers act as the predator, touring the hotel looking for unlucky individuals that couldn't be hid by the hotel staff. Once they found one, they pounced quickly, taking their prize away to satiate for a moment the souls of those they served.

The 12 million people we are being focused on in this country of course are the poor of other countries. We are being shown them as invaders, as individuals that threaten the group. We send out our ICE predators who locate them, scoop them up and take them away. After the individuals are relocated across our border, we have no concern for their welfare. If they get dead after we leave them, we don't care.

Continue reading "What do we see with immigration, part two" »

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the e-mail subjects I get regularly concerns immigration, and the divisiveness of these arguments rattles the nails that hold me together. The basic question I have here is why in a country with a population of 300 million people why is so much of our attention focused on 12 million people?

For example, what do we call them. One side wants them labeled as illegal aliens, while the other wants them called illegal immigrants. This focus on the term is more important than it would first appear because what the backstory is behind the term determines what people see when they focus on these individuals.

There is more to this debate than what we here from Lou Dobbs and Thom Hartmann. While coming into this country without proper papers is illegal, what is the underlying reason that this debate is so vicious? And while the answer here seems obvious – money -- there is more to this than the obvious.

That is what I will focus on over the next few days.
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Posted by Gary D. Brune at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

There are a few news reports that disturb me about the future possibilities in Iraq, The letter posted below I published in the Washington Post, july 31.

Comment on: Robert D. Novak - Bush's Turkish Gamble - washingtonpost.com on 7/30/2007 6:20 PM

Are we seriously entertaining the re-establishment of the Ottoman Empire? Turkey occupied Iraq as part of that entity until 1922 when the British and the European powers dissolved the empire, including the territory we know as Kurdistan.

How much of this has to do with the Turkish economy? Until January 1 of this year, the Turkish Lira had slid to an exchange rate of 1.3 million to the dollar.

They re-valued their currency, but the new lira may still be an indication of just how bad things are there.

This would be the third time Britain and the United States have stabbed the Kurds in the back. Britain set up Iraq, and now they want to wash their hands of it. After the Gulf War, the United States, as I recall, pledged to help them, but thousands died.

If the Bush Administration does this, not only will we over-extend our military resources, but this country will prove just how untrustworthy we are.

All this sound and fury is about oil and money. Iraq has it and Turkey wants it. If history is any guide, the Kurds should have Kurdistan. They've had enough troubles with the Turks.

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 02:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maybe we have a problem here. As a starving student, I am one of the poor folks in Butte County that supplements minimal income with food stamps, specifically the CitiBank program called “Golden State Advantage”. This is a credit card that allows California to send my allotment to a computer network.

I can call on that network anytime I purchase food that month. Of course there are reporting requirements and periodic reviews that come with this plastic. I have to visit the county offices in Oroville and let them know I exist.

A letter came in from Butte County a week ago, asking that I report next month for review. Unusual in it's sequence, I would not make a note except for the posts I did last month in the Washington Post. The timing caused my eyebrows to raise.

Continue reading "The timing of things?" »

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In yesterday's news, Wells Fargo had its national monetary operations hindered by a glitch in its nationwide computer network. Individual customers could not access their money at the branch level or at many automatic teller machines. According to Datawire at computerwire.com, it is ranked sixth among the top 15 national banks with almost $482 billion in assets.

Of the first five banks, three are well known in Butte County. Citicorp is number one with $1.8 trillion in assets. Bank of America is number two, with almost $1.5 trillion, while Wachovia is fourth with $700 billion in assets. What these figures indicate is just how much American money is fixed in national monetary networks.

There are two distressing problems with these figures. If another electronic glitch struck the major banks, they have control of so much money that the customers could have major difficulties. More of a problem though is how much money is under the direct supervision of silicon.

Almost every dollar we earn and spend in this country has a silicon trail. Every financial transaction is etched in a computer network under the Terrorist Financial Tracking System. President George Bush has issued executive orders that allow the government to shut down the checking and saving accounts of individuals, thus rendering them as non-persons according to Marjorie Cohn, current president of the National Lawyer's Guild.

Next week I will launch the series; “I always feel like somebody's watching me" with more research on this and other technical surveillance.

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 01:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Associated Press ran the story yesterday; Report Details Terror Cell Threat. The report, drafted by the New York Police Department, said that disaffected Muslim youth, instead of hanging out in mosques, were more likely to use ''cafes, cab driver hangouts, flop houses, prisons, student associations, non-governmental organizations, hookah bars, butcher shops and bookstores” to gather and potentially develop terrorist cells.

AP indicates “the report warns that potential terrorists are difficult for law enforcers to detect because they blend in well with society. It also argues that more intelligence gathering is needed to thwart potential terror plots at their earliest stages.

“Potential homegrown terrorists ''are not on the law enforcement radar,'' the study says. ''Most have never been arrested or involved in any kind of legal trouble.'''

“They ''look, act, talk and walk like everyone around them,'' the study adds. ''In the early stages of their radicalization, these individuals rarely travel, are not participating in any kind of militant activity, yet they are slowly building the mind-set, intention and commitment to conduct jihad.'''

In a college town, this report shudders my spine because it sounds so familiar. I remember the beatnics, the hippies, and hang around with the youth of today. As I walk through Chico and look into the cafes and bookstores that dot this town, the scene looks like the streets of Berkeley. Young people hang out, talk, experiment with society and develop what they learn in class into something they can use when they venture out in society.

This report seems to use what is normal interaction with youth and the young mind and attempts to turn it into something we need to fear. The phrase that leaps out to me is “young men ... grow disillusioned with life in America.. “ If disillusionment is to become a point of notice to law enforcement agencies, then many Americans would attract their attention.

Are we going to plant high definition microphones and cameras in every place young people hang out in order to keep this country safe?

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 03:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is a piece I published in the San Francisco Chronicle on July 20

garybrune wrote:
So I see that the Napoleonic Code has arrived in American jurisprudence. For the uninitiated that means that one is guilty until proven innocent.

This willingness by the courts of the United States to bend our Constitution into a pretzel so that the individual has no rights is exactly what I feared after 9-11. This decision to search all fans to prove that they are okay people irks me to no end.

Looks like I'll be watching my 49ers on television because the court feels that the safety of all outweighs the rights of the individual. Not only does this mean that the National Football League does not trust me, neither does my government. This is the same attitude that prevailed during the All-Star "festivities".

So even though I'm a non-drinking, non-smoking second generation Californian without a criminal record, I guess that means nothing. It won't be long before I have to establish my bona fides to every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a badge. And this is a free country?

Posted 7/20/2007 9:17:13 PM
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/comments/view?f=/c/a/2007/07/18/BAGIUR2CPM1.DTL&o=1

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I published this letter in The Washington Post on August 2;

Seems that Representative Barton, with a wicked pen, has nailed a problem we have in this country. The Unites States hates poor people.

With whatever label we choose to hang on them, illegal aliens, homeless, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, they are the scum on our shoes that we want to scrape into the garbage.

We haul away our garbage to the dump in this country. And so it is a matter of great frustration that we can't do the same to those people.

Isn't it a tenet of Christianity that what we do for the least of our brethren, we do for ourselves? And don't you know, Representative Barton, that bureaucrats are the screen behind whom politicians hide when they don't want do deal with the effects of the laws they pass.

8/2/2007 7:03:53 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/01/AR2007080102167.html?sub=AR

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I published this letter in the Enterprise-Record on August 2. This is the letter that got the blog started.
Seems the United States is facing a new threat from al-Qaida, according to a National Intelligence Estimate titled "The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland." The problem here is that the notion sounds just a bit familiar.
When I was going to Kimball School in the late 1950s, I remember participating in duck-and-cover drills, which my teacher said would protect us — from a horde of bombers poised just beyond the horizon in a place called the Soviet Union. These bombers were going to drop nuclear fire down on my first-grade class.
While the events of 9/11 were real, so was the Cold War, and before that the war we fought alongside the Soviets. Yet their bombers were going to drop nuclear bombs on Kimball School the same way that al-Qaida is going to let loose some sort of destruction up here in Paradise.
What this sounds like is that al-Qaida is today's communism, and just as much of a threat. The odds are greater that I will put down a dollar and win the lottery. I like those odds.
Gary D. Brune

Posted by Gary D. Brune at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)