[Pops]

''Tracking reading habits would betray our high regard for the First Amendment,'' he [Attorney General John Ashcroft] said. ''And even if someone in government wanted to do so, it would represent an impossible workload and a waste of law enforcement resources.''

[PrestonSturges]

I always enjoy reading those Fox stories because like Al Qeada, Al Jazeera, and the Bush family, Fox has many financial ties to the Saudis.

You've got to love comments like this:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')rotest! Donate! Vote! We could not contest the forces that might be brought against us if the Trojan Horse in the Whitehouse is told by his handlers to declare martial law or suspend the mid-term elections under the pretense of some trumped-up national security issue. (You can bet they have a plan to act fast on that!) They are NOT incompetent; they are executing their plan for 'fundamental change to Totalitarian Marxism'. Now is the most dangerous time because since the recent primaries, they can see the writing on the wall. Beware the fox in the hen house! God save our Constitutional republic!

[the48thronin]

want to tie up resources..
add the following phrases randomly to your phone calls and emails...lol

mobile meth-amphetimine lab

safe house

the sheik

weapon of mass destruction,

urea

propane

and then ask if anyone has any message for the government now that they are listening!

[davep]

They've been doing this for years with Echelon anyway.

[WyoDutch]

We should never allow the government to possess ANY powers that We, The People... would not be willing to intrust to the most depostic regime imaginable. In simpler terms, surrender nothing to the government that a German Jew would not have been willing to cede to Herr Hitler in 1935.

[Olaf]

I can't decide if I hate what the world is becoming, or if I hate that I'm just realizing it has always been this way.

[eXpat]

State Department wants passport applicants to reveal lifetime employment history
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he U.S. Department of State has proposed a new questionnaire that would make it almost impossible for some people to get a passport.

The new document (PDF) would require that certain applicants submit a list of every residence and every job they've ever had since birth.

In February, the department published a request in the Federal Register allowing 60 days for comment before the new rules go into effect.

"The Biographical Questionnaire for a U.S. Passport, form DS-5513, is used to supplement an application for a U.S. passport when the applicant submits citizenship or identity evidence that is insufficient or of questionable authenticity," according to a supporting statement (PDF) issued along with the request for comment.

"This form is used prior to passport issuance and solicits information relating to the respondent’s family, birth circumstances, residences, schooling, and employment," the statement added.

"In addition to this primary use of the data, the DS-5513 may also be used as evidence in the prosecution of any individual who makes a false statement on the application and for other uses as set forth in the Prefatory Statement and the Passport System of Records Notice (State-26)."

The document also requires some applicants to submit information about the mother's pre-natal and post-natal care, the mother's residence one year before and after the birth, the persons in attendance at the birth and religious or institutional recordings of the birth.

[rangerone314]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jotapay', 'I') obviously don't approve of the Big Brother cameras, but I cannot wholeheartedly recommend enough the importance of staying away from Texas. It is a primitive culture where people still ride horses to work, endorse human-animal sex, and child sacrifice occurs before football games. Bathing is frowned upon where temps are 100+ on humid days ("You think you're better than me?"). Women drink, gossip and play cards all day, leaving their children to play in the pasture alongside the animals, and their men unfed. The Church conducts regular home inspections for un-Churchy material and drags offenders before the Inquisition for castration. There are regular gun battles in the street over the smallest of personal offenses.

Spread the word. Stop people from moving here, for the love of god. It defies logic why people are coming here. It's unlivable and much worse than you can imagine. Seriously, Californians, Northeasterners, Coloradians, turn back.

[Fiddlerdave]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JohnDenver', 'I') noticed somebody's using the sketch of the Unabomber as an avatar, and Ayoob posted a new thread about the Unabomber. Hawkcreek was talking longingly about bridges in Alaska being blown up by the "bad guys".
I'm sure the Feds have put two and two together, and realized that Peak Oil is magnet for disgruntleds and fruitcakes. It's only a matter of time until some peak oil nut decides to take matters into his own hands.
So what do you think? Are the Feds monitoring peakoil.com? Will they infiltrate peak oil groups to defuse them? Or are the peak oilers so impotent that such measures are unnecessary?

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he U.S. Department of State is proposing a new Biographical Questionnaire for some passport applicants: The proposed new Form DS-5513 asks for all addresses since birth; lifetime employment history including employers’ and supervisors names, addresses, and telephone numbers; personal details of all siblings; mother’s address one year prior to your birth; any “religious ceremony” around the time of birth; and a variety of other information. According to the proposed form, “failure to provide the information requested may result in … the denial of your U.S. passport application.”

The State Department estimated that the average respondent would be able to compile all this information in just 45 minutes, which is obviously absurd given the amount of research that is likely to be required to even attempt to complete the form.

It seems likely that only some, not all, applicants will be required to fill out the new questionnaire, but no criteria have been made public for determining who will be subjected to these additional new written interrogatories. So if the passport examiner wants to deny your application, all they will have to do is give you the impossible new form to complete.

It’s not clear from the supporting statement, statement of legal authorities, or regulatory assessment submitted by the State Department to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) why declining to discuss one’s siblings or to provide the phone number of your first supervisor when you were a teenager working at McDonalds would be a legitimate basis for denial of a passport to a U.S. citizen.
http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/state-dept-wants-to-make-it-harder-to-get-a-passport/

[ki11ercane]

Seems like your country wants you to stay put and not travel abroad.

Guess it works to your advantage; when your country forces drafts for you to travel to another country to defend energy supplies, you'll be unable to travel; no passport.

[basil_hayden]

Posted 3 days ago by exPat in the US Surveillance thread.....

[Newfie]

I got this from our State Representative's office the other day. Pretty good service

Ironically we had decided to renew our passports early and had just received them back. Frankly I'm not sure if we made the April 1 cut or not. In any case it didn't seem to effect us. Or maybe it is just for NEW passports, not REnewals.

To put this into perspective you need to realize that in the EU there are essentially no border controls. Once you arrive and are checked into an EU country you cross borders at will with no more formality than crossing from Pennsylvania to Ohio, except you don't have to pay turnpike fees. While the EU is progressing we in the US are becoming more and more paranoid.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]New birth certificate guidelines for passport applications

Effective April 1, the U.S. Department of State made it mandatory for the full names of an applicant’s parent(s) to be listed on all certified copies of birth certificates for passport applications, regardless of age. As a result, the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s vital records offices are being inundated with calls and requests asking for previously issued birth certificates to be reissued.

To accommodate residents, the department will re-issue birth certificates if the request is made within three months from the date they were issued, through June 30. After June 30, all applicants must reapply for the birth certificate.

To apply for a copy of a birth certificate, residents must complete an application and provide a copy of a government-issued photo ID, the $10 (per copy) fee in the form of check or money order, or veteran’s information and a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Please note that this long-form birth certificate is only required for passport applications and travel. In all other cases, (i.e. school, Social Security, employment, housing, etc.) the short-form birth certificate is still an acceptable and legitimate document.

Residents should visit the Department of Health’s website at www.health.state.pa.us/vitalrecords for information on how to obtain a certified copy of a birth record, processing times, fees, downloading of application forms, locations of public offices in Pennsylvania, and applying online with a credit card.

Residents can contact the Pa. Department of Health with any questions at 1-877-PA-HEALTH.


Reprentative

Rep. Babette Josephs
D-182nd District
Philadelphia County
website

[Ferretlover]

Domestic drones: Coming soon over a home near you? By Sylvia Wood, msnbc.com
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Federal Aviation Administration is preparing new rules that could make it easier for law enforcement agencies to use drone aircraft in the U.S., raising concerns about privacy at a time when the aircraft are already conducting surveillance missions in some parts of the country.
The American Civil Liberties Union released a report Thursday demanding better protections against a surveillance society, “in which our every move is monitored, tracked, recorded and scrutinized by the authorities.”
“Our privacy laws are not strong enough to ensure that the new technology will be used responsibly and consistently with democratic values,” warns the ACLU report, "Protecting Privacy From Aerial Surveillance: Recommendations for Government Use of Drone Aircraft." "Protecting Privacy From Aerial Surveillance: Recommendations for Government Use of Drone Aircraft."

The report follows a weekend story by the Los Angeles Times that detailed how the unmanned aircraft are being used in domestic law enforcement cases, and not just along the country’s borders to track illegal immigrants and drug smugglers as was originally authorized by Congress in 2005. …