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  1. The American Civil Liberties Union hereby comments on and formally opposes the Department of State's proposed rule creating "electronic passports" by including radio frequency identification chips (RFIDs) in US passports. [1] The proposed rule is outlined at 70 Fed. Reg. 8305-8309, "Electronic Passports," RIN 1400-A893. These chips compromise Americans' privacy, expose them to danger from terrorists and criminals and provide a limited security benefit. Instead, US passports standards should employ a contact chip -- one that can only be read through contact between a reader and chip. This solution would mitigate many of the concerns raised below and better serve the privacy and security interests of US passport holders. The proposed rule contemplates that the data will not be encrypted. As a result, the US passport will broadcast individual identity information for anyone with an RFID reader to steal, a process called "skimming." Passport holders have always had the ability to decide to whom they will show their passports. This gives them the opportunity to shield their personal information from other people, such as terrorists, criminals and any other individual who may bear them ill will. Passports contain extremely valuable information including an individual's date and place of birth. This data would be invaluable for an identity thief because it could be used to gain access to an individual's birth certificate. Recent disclosures of personal information by ChoicePoint Inc. highlight the danger that can result from improper disclosure of these types of personal information. In addition to skimming RFIDs are susceptible to the problem of third parties intercepting information when it is being transmitted from the chip to the reader -- what the State Department calls eavesdropping. The State Department has not conclusively demonstrated that RFID chips would last for the full 10 years for which U.S. passports are valid. As the ICAO states, "most Chip applications assume a chip/smartcard validity of 2-3 years - how such technology will perform over 5-10 years is yet to be tested in real world applications as the technology typically has not been deployed with consumers for that length of time." Nothing in the proposed rule prevents "cloning" these passports - skimming the data off of a passport chip, and then copying it in its entirety onto another RFID chip. Thus, this proposed rule is a recipe for counterfeiting disaster. As we noted above, skimming and eavesdropping are very real possibilities with RFIDs. A counterfeiter, therefore, could copy the data on a passport holder's chip and reproduce it exactly. The data skimmed from a passport could also be used to forge a duplicate of the actual physical passport, since all the information needed to do so, including the subject's photograph, will be stored "free and clear" on the RFID tag. The proposed rule does not address the significant new costs associated with including an RFID chip in passports. According to documents obtained by the ACLU through a Freedom of Information Act request, Frank Moss, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Passport Services, stated in a 2003 speech that RFID chips are likely to increase the government's costs of producing passports from $2.40 to a passport range of $6 to $10. Additionally, the State Department has stated that it will replace any passport that has a chip failure. This commitment represents a significant unknown cost because, as noted above, the long-term viability of RFID chips has not yet been tested in a real world application and may not be realistic over a 10-year period.
  2. A federal court ruled that the Bush administration’s program to monitor the phone calls and e-mails of Americans without warrants is unconstitutional and must be stopped. This is the first ruling by a federal court to strike down the controversial National Security Agency surveillance program. Yesturday's ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Anna Diggs Taylor agreed that the NSA program violates Americans' rights to free speech and privacy under the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution, and runs counter to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) passed by Congress. Judge Taylor also rejected the government's argument that the case could not proceed because of state secrets, saying that facts about NSA wiretapping have already been conceded by the government. "By holding that even the president is not above the law, the court has done its duty under our Constitution to serve as a check on executive power," said ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson, who argued the case before Judge Taylor. "Throwing out the Constitution will not make Americans any safer." In her ruling, Judge Taylor dismisses the government's argument that the president "has been granted the inherent power to violate not only the laws of the Congress but the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution, itself." "There are no hereditary Kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution. So all ‘inherent powers’ must derive from that Constitution," wrote Judge Taylor. Judge Taylor will next consider a request from the government for a stay pending the government's appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The ACLU will oppose the motion, but has agreed to a short temporary stay until the court can rule on the government's request. That hearing is expected to be held on September 7th. Beginning in 2001, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to conduct electronic surveillance of people within the United States, including U.S. citizens, without a warrant. The ongoing surveillance program has been in direct violation of FISA, which requires the executive branch to obtain a warrant before engaging in electronic surveillance of Americans. The national ACLU and the ACLU of Michigan brought the lawsuit on behalf of prominent journalists, scholars, attorneys and national nonprofit organizations who say that the NSA program is disrupting their ability to communicate effectively with sources and clients. Judge Taylor noted that impact in yesturday's ruling, citing scholars such as New York University professor Barnett Rubin, who recently returned from Afghanistan where he was conducting interviews for a policy report for the Council on Foreign Relations. "In order for me to provide analysis and updates for the American public and officials who are concerned about Afghanistan, I need to be able to have confidential communications," Professor Rubin said. "My experience in Afghanistan convinces me that illegal programs such as warrantless NSA spying and the detentions at Guantánamo actually undermine national security." Kary L. Moss, Executive Director of the ACLU of Michigan, said, "Judge Taylor said today - "there are no hereditary kings in America, and today's decision just vindicates the rights of the people for the people." The White House has stonewalled congressional attempts to investigate the administration's circumvention of FISA. President Bush personally blocked an investigation by the Justice Department regarding the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program. Although Congress lacks a full understanding of the facts, several bills have been introduced that would reward the government's illegal actions by changing the law to legitimize the programs. The case, ACLU v. NSA, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Attorneys in the case are Beeson, Jameel Jaffer and Melissa Goodman of the national ACLU, and Moss and Michael Steinberg of the ACLU of Michigan.
  3. Bill Gates is for big raise in H-1B visas Check out this article by S Rajagopalan: Flying into Washington DC on a rare visit, Microsoft chief Bill Gates has added his powerful voice to the demand that US Congress clear the decks for a hefty increase in the number of H-1B visas. Gates, faced with the shortage of Indian and other foreign techies, decided to come down to the US capital and personally lobby for an end to visa woes that have affected the operations of Microsoft and other US giants. The visit came amid moves to come up with a legislation in the Senate to raise the H-1B cap from 65,000 visas a year to 115,000, with a built-in provision for 20% increase every year. “The high skills immigration issue is by far the No. 1 thing. This is gigantic for us,” the world’s richest man told the Washington Post and pointed to the irony of Indian techies having to go back after doing advanced computer courses in the US because of the visa shortage. “It’s kind of ironic to have somebody graduate from Stanford Computer Science Department and there’s not enough H1B visas, so they have to go back to India,” he said, adding: “And I have people who have been hired, who are just sitting on the border waiting.” Beginning fiscal 2004, the H-1B visas are down to 65,000 from a peak of 195,000 allowed for the preceding three years. The drop is so precipitous that the whole H-1B quota is now exhausted well before the start of the fiscal year. Gates grumbled that he has a hard time understanding the logic of those who decry the outsourcing of American jobs, but are still reluctant to the entry of high-skilled people who are catalysts for US growth. Alongside the move to raise the H-1B cap, Gates backs the Bush administration’s plan to boost the teaching of math and science in US high schools as part of the long-term goal to expand the supply of qualified Americans for tech jobs.
  4. Mad Cow Disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a brain disease of cattle first identified in the United Kingdom (UK) in the mid 1980s. BSE is part of a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). All of these diseases are characterized by distinctive changes in the brain, abnormal behavior and death. What causes Mad Cow Disease (BSE)? It is thought that this disease is caused and spread by an abnormal form of a protein called a "prion". The abnormal protein triggers a chain-reaction causing other proteins in the brain to change to the abnormal form. Eventually these abnormal proteins accumulate in the brain leading to the development of abnormal behavior and eventually death. How do cattle get Mad Cow Disease (BSE)? When cattle are slaughtered, portions of the animal not destined for human consumption may be used to produce a protein-rich byproduct that may be mixed with grain and fed back to livestock as feed. In the UK where the disease was first identified, it is thought that these byproducts may have contained the prion protein, and that cattle became infected by consuming feed containing prion-contaminated animal protein. It is for this reason that the feeding of animal proteins derived from cattle back to cattle has been banned in the US. Mad Cow Disease in the United States As of January 2005, five BSE-infected cattle have been identified in North America. The first was in 1993, involving an animal born in Britain. The second was reported in Canada on May 20, 2003. It occurred in a single older cow that may have contracted the disease from contaminated feed in earlier years. The animal was destroyed after being declared unfit for consumption. The United States also issued a temporary ban on all Canadian beef. On December 23, 2003, the first case of BSE in the United States was found in a single Holstein cow in Mabton, Washington, although trace-backs later revealed that this cow originated from a Canadian herd. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman called the discovery "a clear indication that our surveillance and detection program is working." However, the United States tested only 20,526 cows in 2003 out of the roughly 35 million slaughtered. Current tests reveal the presence of misshaped prions when they are abundant, but it is not known how far the disease must progress in an individual to transmit it to others. Therefore, it is possible that even among those cattle that are tested and classified as negative, a proportion nevertheless may be contagious. As a result, U.S. authorities have very little idea of how many American beef cattle might have the disease. The government has banned the use of "downer cows" for human consumption. While the Washington cow that tested positive for BSE was reportedly unable to stand, veterinarians say the condition was unrelated to BSE. Furthermore, there is some dispute as to whether the cow was a downer or not. Therefore it is not clear how effective the ban is in reducing the number of infected cattle consumed. Only 200,000 cows slaughtered in 2003 were downers. The meat of the BSE-positive cow went to market, but some of it was successfully recalled before it was sold to consumers. U.S. authorities called for a switch to the testing procedure that is used in the United Kingdom, which yields its results in one day. Until the switch, U.S. surveillance relied on a test that gave results only after two weeks, after which time the meat from an animal usually has all been sold. Shortly after the U.S. discovery of BSE in 2003, Japan and South Korea instituted temporary bans on the import of U.S. beef until the authorities can be assured of its safety. Since Japan and South Korea are the first- and third-largest importers of US beef, respectively, the economic impact of their bans is significant both for American cattle ranchers and for Japanese and Korean beef consumers. Notwithstanding, Japanese beef exports, chiefly the expensive wagyu, have been banned in the United States since Japan experienced its first case of BSE in January 2001. Japan lifted its ban on US beef in December 2005. It was, however, quick to reinstate the ban. Brooklyn-based Atlantic Veal & Lamb inspectors failed to notice there was bone material included in a shipment of veal to Japan. Japanese inspectors found material from cattle backbone in three of 41 boxes in an 858-pound shipment of beef from Atlantic Veal & Lamb. No case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has occurred in North America so far, except among those who have traveled to Europe. On June 10, 2005, the USDA reported a possible case of BSE in the United States. Tests carried out at the USDA laboratory in Ames, Iowa indicated the presence of BSE, and after subsequent confirmation from the Weybridge Veterinary Laboratory in the United Kingdom, the USDA acknowledged the second case of BSE on June 24. Trace-backs revealed that this cow originated from a herd in Texas, making it the first BSE cow native to the United States. On March 13, 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that a 10-year-old, nonambulatory cow in Alabama tested positive for BSE. Despite this the government still plans to scale back testing of animals from about 1000 to 110 daily. The USDA and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association have repeatedly insisted that the testing in place is sufficient.
  5. I am interested to see how many people identify with the growing amount of trash around Ward 5. How can Vincent Orange run for mayor when he has not cleaned up the area he is responsible for is a mess. BTW I noticed he did not even put his campaign headquarters in the Ward he represents. How pathetic is that.
  6. I disagree. Both Hitler and Bush used national tragedies to justify the destruction of civil liberties.
  7. I challenge all Americans to study Senator Russell D. Feingold censure and consider the fact that this White House power-grab now gives tentacles that can reach out into every facet of our society. NSA wiretapping without the consent of a judge is another example what the White House will do to illegally strip American citizens of all of their rights and grant the government and its private agents total immunity. When the Founding Fathers wrote the First Amendment, it was not their intention to protect politically correct speech. It is exactly the purpose of the First Amendment to protect unpopular speech. Read John Stuart Mill's essay "On Liberty." The value of freedom is the diversity of opinions and thoughts it encourages. It's that old saying, "Which would you prefer, a hundred minds working to solve a problem, or just one?" The Constitution is turning into just an old piece of paper.
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