TaxPayer $$$ Down the Drain!

Nothing new in this post's title but this time it is big bucks going to criminals. I caught wind of this one from a news blurb on TV concerning Donald Trump before the U.S. Senate. Although Trump is not my favorite person in the world I will say he is right on concerning this one. I'm talking about the renovation of the United Nations building in New York, NY.

"The U.S. Congress has agreed to loan the United Nations the $1.2 billion at a 5.54 percent interest rate, to be repaid over 30 years. But some lawmakers have had second thoughts over mismanagement of the $67 billion oil-for-food plan for Iraq." - SOME LAWMAKERS??? I want to see the list of those with second thoughts. Better yet, the list of those without second thoughts. -prying1- -

A US News article says concerning Trump's meeting with the Senate, "Reality television star Donald Trump told the U.S. Senate on Thursday the United Nations should be fired over its handling of a $1.2 billion plan to renovate the world body's New York headquarters. Trump...predicted the renovation would run far over budget because U.N. managers were incompetent.

He insisted he could do the job for half the U.N. estimate, but then admitted he had no plans to bid for the job.

"If you don't know what you are doing it can be fraught with cost overruns, et cetera, et cetera," he told a Senate Governmental Affairs Committee looking into the project, known as the U.N. Capital Master Plan."

U.N. CAPITAL MASTER PLAN??? Who thought up that name? Sounds like something from the Third Reich. -prying1-

So? Do they really need renovation? - The review found that maintenance could not keep pace with structural repairs required for major plumbing leaks, rusting rail supports, soaked roofing material and the original, 50-year-old electrical wiring. And the Headquarters buildings no longer comply with current fire safety codes and environmental standards. There was for example, no sprinkler system in the high-rise building and asbestos were present. Handicapped accessibility standards and security requirements were also not being met. Finally, the buildings were extremely energy-inefficient.

prying1 sez:
I suggest that they just tear down the building and move the organization to some desert someplace. As long as it is not in Australia. Australia doesn't need a new batch of criminal immigration like they had during their penal colony days... - They can hire Sheriff Joe Arpaio (of Arizona) to design a tent city. Dig an amphitheater pit big enough for the members to sit around the edges and Secretary-General Kofi Annan can lead meetings from the bottom of it. It will work real well unless the members keep kicking sand in thereby burying Kofi... - So it goes if that happens.

Can Software Kill?

I receive email newsletters from eWeek.com - A technology based company that has articles that are usually above me. I read the headlines and occasionally see a teaser that makes me think, "I can understand this!"

This week the title, "Hardening Expectations for Software Quality" caught my eye. The reason being, I am continually amazed at the size programs have grown to. To download a simple plugin today took 25 megabytes. That is 5 megabytes more than my first hard drive held. I remember reading how the early computer whizzes at MIT worked hard to streamline programs because they were working with 64k. Nowadays a computer programmer sees the code won't work he just DX's it with a 'rem' command and leaves it in the middle of the software program. Who cares if it takes a bit of space. Plenty more where that came from. To hell with those on dialup.

Well back to the title of this posting. Well, pretty soon anyway. The article mentioned Solidware Technologies that has presented software to find bugs in software. (Free 60 day trial/download for you programming geeks!) in their advert it said, "making software safer - Ouch! There were 428 fatalities between 1985 and 2003 caused by software bugs*** (and these are just the ones we know about)." ... *** 2004 Baseline study, Can Software Kill? - end quote -

NOW ON TO THE TITLE OF THIS POST! - With this I had to run a Google search. - "Can Software Kill?" - (with quotes) - 573 hits with most leading to links to the following link -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TechNewsWorld - 4-13-04 - Software can kill you. Don't think so? Talk to the family members of 21 deceased patients treated at the National Cancer Institute in Panama in November 2000. The cancer patients died after being overdosed by a Cobalt-60 radiotherapy machine. The technicians who entered patient and medication data into the software that guided that machine will stand trial starting May18th in Panama City on charges of second-degree murder.
&
According to published reports, Ferrari's North America division recalled 353 cars in 1999 because of a software programming error. Some Ferrari 360 Modena and 360 Modena F1 models manufactured in the previous year contained a glitch in the electronic instrument module that prevented a warning light from illuminating if a problem was detected with a car's brake system.
&
But it's not just in cars that buggy software is threatening life and limb. Computer programming is now embedded in much of the equipment and appliances that permeate homes, schools and the workplace, making software quality a major issue. Most software releases are far from perfect, and software industry analysts admit there is little difference in the quality control applied to industrial programming and retail products.
- end quotes -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

prying1 sez: While I don't think it is yet time to put on white robes, drag out the old "END OF THE WORLD" signs and give up our day jobs, I do think that supporting companies like Solidware Technologies would be a good thing. If you know anyone who deals in programming and works with chip design send them the link. Who knows. Some day it might save a life. Besides, they get to play with it for 60 days for free.

Google Earth

Gotta wonder if Google is gonna take over planet earth - It seems like they continually come up with something new that leaves others in the dust.

This time it is Google Earth. - A hat tip to Homemade Tutorials for this link - Quite a nice site and worthy of a visit.

Now what is Google Earth? - A map of the planet that allows you to fly about and pull in close ups of areas of interest. A way to locate banks, schools, churches, fire stations, stores and even volcanoes. Aren't as many of those around but just in case you want to check you neighborhood...

You must have Windows 2000 or XP and cable/broadband to use this program. Quite a wonderful experience to type in the address and watch the planet rotate and then pull in for a close up (if available) - Find your house - Check your church parking lot and see if the pastors car was there when they took the pic. Find the nearest volcano and see if it is far enough away or if you should move...

For a bit more info before downloading check out Homemade Tutorials blog - To see what Google's advert click here - To jump in with both feet click on this link - Google Earth Download - Have a good trip! -

Does Spam Cop Work?

I have recently started a new email address and am already getting spam on it.

In times past I have checked the headers located the offending ISP and emailed the webmaster of the company it was sent from/through. This is a tedious process.

I was thinking of signing up with SpamCop for their free service. It appears that through using their service the amount of spam can decrease and if the spammers figure out you are a trouble maker they might drop your address from their lists.

Anyone reading this ever use SpamCop? Could you leave a few lines concerning your experience? Is there any downside to using their services? Besides time that is...
Does it work with email services like Yahoo and Gmail?

Are These People Sick or What?

Thanks to Very Small Doses for the heads up on this one -

You missed the party!

Well, Maybe you didn't miss much.

NARAL, a national 'rip unborn babies from the wombs of their mothers' organization has an affiliate in Washington-state that thought it cute to have a 'Screw Abstinence Party'.

Complete with:
Toys in Babeland - Seattle's sleaze-free, sex-positive purveyors of adult toys offer tips on "Sexy Safer Sex."
AND
'Sex in Seattle' & 'Pork Filled Players' - Two of Seattle theatre's hottest sketch comedy groups perform a sex ed class for adults.

How old are these people that they need instructions on using sex toys and sex education classes.

Well apparently they had to be over 21 because it was held at some dive in Seattle.


From the event advert: "All funds raised at Screw Abstinence will assist NARAL Pro-Choice Washington in our work to secure comprehensive and medically-accurate sex education, as well as guarantee every woman the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I still cannot understand why ripping babies from mothers wombs is so important to these people. - Don't get me wrong. I am not in favor of strictly outlawing all abortions. I think it should be a states issue as opposed to being something forced on the country by the supreme court.

I especially feel that advancing other alternatives is much more important than filling trash sacks with babies. So why is it these people feel it is more important to fill trash sacks with babies instead of advancing alternatives?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Even some lefties at The Stranger.com think it is in poor taste (warning - bad language in article) and sets back the agenda.

Some from the right think it is a good idea for the left to stage events like this:

- quote from the Stranger -

"I love it when they do this," says Republican Party State Chair Chris Vance. "It's just another example of the liberal-left marginalizing itself. They forget who they're trying to target: suburban parents. And suburban parents are very worried about [premarital sex]." - end quote -

As a right-winger (I don't spit tobaccy juice, burn crosses nor wear swastikas) I am saddened that some in this country have had their consciences burned to the point that they cannot see that nonsense like this is not a good thing. Absolutely nothing redeeming in actions like this. The national NARAL should have given this chapter the boot when this 'party' was first advertised using the NARAL name. Perhaps not doing so shows an insight into the national mentality of groups like this.

One article I read said at least 100 people got advance tickets. Wonder how many of them will get abortions soon after they "Screw Abstinence"?

Gotta Love It! U.S. Wins Cold War!!!

Proof the United States has won the cold war!

A hat tip to Tomorrows Trends.

Want proof the cold war is over and the U.S. won. Here it is. NASA is being sued by a Russian astrologer!

ANANOVA has the story about:
~~~~~~~ quote ~~~~~~~
A Russian astrologer is suing NASA after claiming the probe they smashed into a comet meant she had to rewrite all her horoscopes.

Marina Bai wants 170,000 (prying1 asks: US$$$??? Rupees??? Pesos??? original text does not specify) in damages after Nasa's Deep Impact probe crashed into the Tempel 1 comet.

She said the collision will change the orbit of the comet and therefore affect the night skyscape, and she will be unable to read horoscopes properly without lots of extra research.

She said: "It is obvious that elements of the comet's orbit, and correspondingly the ephemeris, will change after the explosion. This will interfere with my astrology work and distort my horoscopes."

Moscow district court officials have said preparations for the case are underway, but that no date has yet been set for a hearing.
~~~~~~~ end quote ~~~~~~~

prying1 sez:
We have managed to export silly lawsuits to Russia and now they will never be able to go back to the old communist system.

Was Darwin Christian?

Phil Dillon, Prairie Apologist - Owner and Proprietor of a wonderful blog, Another Man's Meat has a post on Darwin. Was he a Christian or not? - Phil has a can of worms with the lid off and some of the worms are climbing over the side. - Go check out Phil's site and leave a comment on his post. You might want to dig back into his archives and see some other excellent writings. Plan on being amazed and amused for a while and don't forget to bookmark his site.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I thought I'd bring my comment on his post over to my blog in hopes of getting another can of worms open and watching the worms crawl out. -

~~~~~~~~~~~

Simple logic settles the question, "Is there a God or not?"... And the answer still involves a decision by each human on earth.

Does God exist, yes or no?

If the answer is no then all other discussion and contemplation on the subject is foolishness.

If the answer is yes then a life without discussion and contemplation on the subject is foolishness.

Is this something that should be answered with the throw of dice or cutting a deck of cards?

I'd say it is more foolish to run with the assumption the answer is no than to utilize more logic with the yes answer.

Such as, to ask: "If God exists does He concern himself with the affairs of men..."

Blogger Supplies

Not sure how many have missed this one. I might be the only one but I doubt it. Google has a few blogger items in their supply store. How can anyone REALLY blog without wearing a t-shirt with the blogger logo on it? Their Ringnecked T has a brown neck trim so you can blog for a week without concerning yourself with friends and neighbors seeing the ring around the collar. You can sleep in it with your head on the keyboard.

Actually I think that wearing a blogger t shirt might help start conversations so you can direct people to your blog. Might be worth a try to get readers. Seems to me though that if we are advertising for Google and Blogger they ought to pay us to wear the stuff...

Who-Hoo! It works!!!

Ever have one of those computer problems that just defies all the verbiage you can throw at Google? For 18 days I've been trying to figure out how to get my computer to look at my new ISP and get the IP address. I had to log on with my older dial-up service. I even went so far as to put a new operating system on some reformatted/used hard drives. I'm working with an emachine and Windows XP here.

I didn't want to load a new system onto my regular hard drive because it was my only connection with my computer. Plus I was fearful of losing all the stuff I have on it. So what I was doing was loading a copy of WinXP onto (5-6) old spare hard drives I have laying around. These drives are from 1.2 gigs to 2.5 gigs. After loading WinXP on them and making them the master drive the computer would not boot. When I worked around that with CD's and floppies and got the machine going I kept getting messages that I was running out of space on the drives. My video card would not register so I was stuck with default settings AND none of these drives would connect to the ISP.

I finally broke down and went against everything my Scottish blood says to do. I went out and paid for a new, in the box, hard drive. 40 gigs for $70+ dollars. - With it I was able to set up the boot partition, load XP and still have room to load video drivers and my ISP provided programs.

Who Hoo! It works!!! AND my original drive works well as a D: drive so I still have all my old programs. What an ordeal!

One really good thing is I got it working just in time for my nap!

Book Review - Lizzie Borden, The Untold Story

Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks.
And when she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.

'Lizzie Borden, The Untold Story' by Edward D. Radin

It seems from reading this book that everything we know about Lizzie Borden is wrong. The question is still asked at the end of the book, "Did she or didn't she?", but this book presents facts either unknown or long ignored by many Lizzie Borden storytellers.

A Mr. Edmund Pearson, whose works on the Lizzie Borden trial were considered the final word in the matter ignored much of the court testimony that exonerated Lizzie. Certain facts in the case were left out of his writings. Edward Radin goes through the court records and news articles of the time presenting much information that is missing from the poem and the story as we know it. Well written in easy to understand layman's terms I would suggest this book for any who like real crime stories...

As an aside I'll also suggest a visit to Alice Beard's website where, near the bottom of the page, she has - quote - The genealogy game of "Lizzie Borden"... The object of the genealogy game is to see if you can claim Lizzie as a distant cousin. You know, so when you're having a bad day, you can say, "Leave me alone. I've got PMS, and I'm a cousin of Lizzie Borden."... - end quote - You have to build your own genealogy list to compare with Lizzie's but this would be a great conversation stopper at parties and such... -

Condolences

Condolences to An American Housewife (Carol) who lost her husband last Thursday evening. The blogging community has quickly become family to many of us and I'm certain that just hearing this news brings heartache to many. You can leave a condolence message on Carol's Blog.

American Princess has a link to make a Paypal donation. If you can donate even a little bit it would only help. Please put some feet to your well wishes for the family and give what you can. Just mark the donation as a 'caring gift' and donate more than you can afford. The Lord will cover you on the other end.

COMPUTER DAZE!

WHY ME LORD?

Ever find yourself looking towards heaven and crying out this familiar phrase? The times I most often hear it emanate from my lips is when I'm trying to make some changes to my computer system. This time it should have been real simple. Changing my ISP from a dial up to a cable modem. Sounds simple right? Just call 'em up and have 'em do it.

That works fine for any other house on your block. Would have worked well for this house except!!! My computer was manufactured in the bowels of hell.

I'll back up a bit.

Since my recent surgery my daughter has come over to keep an eye on me. You know, make sure I don't go through the fall over and can't get up scenario. She brought her computer over and the 2 machines sit near side by side. She is not satisfied with my dialup service and has convinced me I need to upgrade services. I was ready for the change and agreed amiably. Cable comes in and with a router both computers are hooked to it. Hers works wonderfully. Mine will not. I have been through 1 week plus of hell trying to make this stupid machine work. Her still connects fine. I thought for sure I would have them both mucked up by now and I could kill them both with a hammer, but no. Just mine is the one I'm gonna get to beat mercilessly.

I can still get online through the dialup but the cable company will not issue my machine an IP address. I force fed an IP address and it worked for 2 days. But static numbers are not acceptable. They issued a new IP and my machine will not accept/read it. I'm left blowin' in the wind... Daughters computer still works fine. Worst thing is I was quickly spoiled with the speed of the cable. That is when I get it to work for an hour at a time. In a couple days my daughter will go back to her house, take her machine and really leave me in a tizzy. Good thing I'm bald so I won't be tearing my hair out.

I call up the cable company and they go through some major changes trying to find the problem. They read my daughters machine fine. Mine is there in a hazy 'Wizard of Oz', 'man behind the curtain' sort of way. I call emachines (my manufacturer). They send me to websites that tell me to try stuff I did a week ago without their help. MS/WINXP pages are only there to fill in the blank spots on the internet. Device troubleshooters take one in a circle only to say, "Don't take your paycheck to Vegas buddy, cuz you are out of luck!" I Google the problem (on my daughters machine when I can get her away from it). I get some techy geeks talking acronyms that would leave Bill Gates scratching his head. Working different wire configurations I catch and stop myself from ripping the wires out of both machines.

Worst thing is I know it is 'one setting' in the deepest recesses of my computer that needs a simple mouse click. Perhaps I could get to it with this screwdriver and putty knife.

AND through all this I have not had a smoke for I quit counting how how many days. - OK, I had to count - 19 days. - I did break down and had a stick of gum yesterday. Sort of stale. Don't know how long it had been in the drawer. I do figure that if the stress level I've gone through with this stupid computer has not driven me back to smoking then I'm pretty much in the clear on that end.

Breath Deep, Self Control, Think Happy Thoughts, and Set the Hammer Down...

Time Magazine to turn over subpoenaed records

CNN - Time Inc. announced Thursday it would turn over the subpoenaed records from journalist Matt Cooper regarding the leak of a CIA operative's name, even though it "strongly disagrees" with the court order

I think some might look at this event as an interference between the U.S. Government and the Freedom of the Press. I see it a bit differently. I see it as setting rule of law above excuses to break the law. - For those who missed it here is a quick recap: Matt Cooper and Judith Miller of the New York Times were facing up to four months in jail for refusing to reveal their confidential sources in the "Plame is a CIA agent" revelation.

Because federal law makes it a crime to deliberately reveal the identity of a CIA operative, the Justice Department launched an investigation...
~~~~~~~~~~~
Miller and Cooper and their news organizations decided to fight the subpoenas, although Cooper did reveal one unnamed source who released him from confidentiality pledge.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Ironically, Miller faces jail time for refusing to reveal sources she developed during her reporting, even though she never actually wrote a story on Plame or Wilson.

Prying1 sez:
It is a no brainer. If some 'source' broke the law in revealing information to me you bet your sweet bippy the 'source' will find his name on the judges desk before the spit dries on the envelope flap... I realize I am in no way on the same playing field as the big boys in the news rooms and they need to have 'sources' that sometimes need anonymity BUT should any citizen, a newsman or not, fall on the sword for another citizen who is breaking or has broken the law.

Hypotheticals aside I think the answer should reflect the importance of the rule of law.

I love it when I don't have to work!!!

AubreyJ.org (Just another BLOGGER's website) Has said everything anybody Right or Left could say about President Bush's Tues night speech. As a four fingered typist I love it. I need only link to his post and I'm pretty much done.

Now WE (this includes you, dear reader) need only get everyone in the world to read AubreyJ's post. Then everyone can shut up and get back to work. Email the link for his post to 10 people and you will have good luck for one week. Email it to 100 people and you will have 10,000 butterflies settle upon your house.

One of the stupidest things I've heard from the left!!!

Hat tip to - Left End of The Dial - (Another Slap Happy place to visit)

Tribunal on Iraq Findings
World Tribunal on Iraq

Monday 27 June 2005

The attack on Iraq is an attack on justice, on liberty, on our safety, on our future, on us all - The Jury of Conscience

Istanbul, 27 June, 2005 - With a Jury of Conscience from 10 different countries hearing the testimonies of 54 members of the Panel of Advocates who came from across the world, including Iraq, the United States and the United Kingdom, this global civil initiative came to an end with a press conference at the Hotel Armada where the chair of the Jury of Conscience, Arundathi Roy, announced the Jury's conclusions.
~~~~~~~
Am I supposed to believe this PANEL met without any preconceived ideas on how it would turn out?
~~~~~~~
The Jury defined this war as one of the most unjust in history: 'The Bush and Blair administrations blatantly ignored the massive opposition to the war expressed by millions of people around the world. They embarked upon one of the most unjust, immoral, and cowardly wars in history. The Anglo-American occupation of Iraq of the last 27 months has led to the destruction and devastation of the Iraqi state and society. Law and order have broken down completely, resulting in a pervasive lack of human security; the physical infrastructure is in shambles; the health care delivery system is a mess; the education system has ceased to function; there is massive environmental and ecological devastation; and, the cultural and archeological heritage of the Iraqi people has been desecrated.'
~~~~~~~~
Why do groups like these ignore the hundreds of thousands raped, pillaged and murdered by Saddam and his henchmen? Why do they ignore the gassing of the Kurds?
Why do they ignore the environmental benefits Iraq has received? Why do they ignore the OIL for PAYOFF scandal with the UN?
~~~~~~~~
Perhaps this is why - Number one recommendation by this group of fool leftists!

We recommend:

1. The immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the coalition forces from Iraq;
~~~~~~~~
In other words, let the country go back to the terrorists so that mayhem continues and leaves a toehold for world socialism.

~~~~~~~~
prying1 sez: When you meet these people on the street the same treatment should be given to them as the statue of Saddam Hussein received. Beat them over the head with your shoe!!!

Space Station gets 2001 Upgrade (At Last)

Those who saw and loved the Stanley Kubrick film "2001: A Space Odyssey" will be pleased to know that the Space Station has finally upgraded 'in part' to reach the year 2001. Although the voice activated computer 'Clarissa' does not have HAL's artificial intelligence it is believed that this system will be much nicer. From what I gather the system sounds even nicer than the voices in my head.
~~~~~~~~~ Quotes from New Scientist magazine ~~~~~~~~~~~
Called Clarissa, the program will initially talk astronauts on the International Space Station through tests of onboard water supplies. But its developers hope it will eventually be used for all computer-related work on the station.
**********
Clarissa was designed with input from astronauts. They said it was difficult to perform the 12,000 procedures necessary to maintain the ISS and conduct scientific experiments while simultaneously reading through lengthy instruction manuals.
**********
Clarissa's software runs on a laptop and astronauts interact with it using a headset, which helps screen out noise from the station. The program "listens" to everything astronauts say and analyses what to do in response using a "command grammar" of 75 commands based on a vocabulary of 260 words.
**********
It accurately interprets those commands about 94% of the time, but if it makes a mistake, astronauts can correct it with commands like, "no, I meant...". But because Clarissa listens to everything, early versions of the program misinterpreted whether an astronaut was giving it a command or having an unrelated conversation about 10% of the time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Personally I thought the movie stunk. Talk about boring. It did work well as a sleeping aid but I'd rather have insomnia... Hopefully Clarrissa will not put the astronauts to sleep.

(Link in NewScientist.com story to NASA video)

Moving Forward a Bit.

As I sat in this computer room/library I finally decided on Friday it was time to get back to work selling on eBay. I need to clear our some of the stacks of books. Hoping they go to homes that need/want them. I had quite a business going until a few months back and got out of the habit of listing items for sale. Mostly dealing in books but on occasion I would list other items such as printing equipment and even a 1940's stove. It went to a little cabin in Big Bear CA.

One thing I would appreciate was hooking the right book up to the right person. Usually at a discount from the online book sellers. Sometimes I would get emails from customers telling of how their niece/nephew just loved the book or a teacher saying he had to borrow a copy from a friend every year to teach a portion of his class. That one was a great deal for him. $50.00 for a hard to find book. I only saw one copy online and the bookseller wanted $200.00 for it.

Anyway, expect me to tout my eBay sales on occasion. I lucked out. Decided to start fresh with a new eBay name and guess what was available? - 'prying1' - That's right. Your (semi) favorite blogger now has the same eBay nom de plume. - Click here to check my eBay offerings.

Bottom Floor Opportunity

So I've been 'smoke free' for 10 days now. Cold Turkey/no patch or gum. Hasn't been too bad. Little urges every so often but nothing driving me to suicide or murder. Yet! Have been thinking about it a bit though. Seems I got some pleasure from tobacco that is really hard to explain. Must be some chemical in the brain sort of stuff. Some chemical that would have a person ignore the cost. Ignore the mess. Ignore the smell. Ignore the anger and hatred of others. Well sometimes that fit into the pleasure part too. Just getting people ticked at you can have a beneficial boost to the psyche and ego.

So I came up with an idea. All I have to do is figure out some product that people will willingly get addicted to. Is not illegal. They won't care what they spend on it and my manufacturing and distribution costs are minimal. Tack in a percentage to the government for "SIN TAX" (another term for political payoff)And I'm on my way. Seems though since tobacco is already run by people that wouldn't want me horning in on their action I have to come up with something different. Any suggestions??? I'll cut you in on it.

Social Security and FBI Sharing Info

Zippp! Zooommmm! Zappping through Cyberspace and suddenly I came to a screeching halt. - (Many of you may think the word screeching very apropos) - What is this??? Party of the Purple (Combination of red and blue. Get it? Got it? Good!) Mark Owen had made a list of news articles and cartoons that backed up his world view. In the midst of the list was this link to a N.Y. Times Article: "The Social Security Administration has relaxed its privacy restrictions and searched thousands of its files at the request of the FBI as part of terrorism investigations since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, newly disclosed records and interviews show." - end quote -

Well, the link actually led to a page that the Times Syndicate set up as a buffer. A log-in page. To save the privacy concerns of our more cynical readers we at prying1 did a Google Search and found that PrisonPlanet.com has the standing story and requires no sign in. Prison planet may or may not record your visit through your I.P. number. So it goes.

Which brings me back to the story. - Here are some quotes -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The privacy policy typically bans the sharing of such confidential information, which includes home addresses, medical information and other personal data. But senior officials at the Social Security agency agreed to an "ad hoc" policy that authorized the release of information to the bureau for investigations related to Sept. 11 because officials saw a "life-threatening" emergency, internal memorandums say.
............
Social Security and law enforcement officials said that they were sensitive to privacy concerns and had put safeguards in place, but that they believed that the information gave investigators a valuable tool.

"We ran thousands of Social Security numbers," said a former senior FBI official who insisted on anonymity because the files involved internal cases.

"We got very useful information, that's for sure," the former official said. "We recognized the value of having that information to track leads, and, to their credit, so did the Social Security Administration."
............
Some privacy advocates and members of Congress, although sympathetic to the extraordinary demands posed by the Sept. 11 investigation, said they were troubled by what they saw as a significant shift in privacy policies.
............
James Huse, who was the inspector general at the Social Security agency until March 2004, said his agency provided relevant identifying information to the bureau on possible terror suspects but relied on the tax agency to determine what information it would turn over on a suspect's income and employment.

The FBI requests "came in by the thousands," Mr. Huse said in an interview. "They would give us the names of people suspected of being terrorists for whatever reason, and we'd match them against Social Security indices to see if these people were real, did they have Social Security numbers, things like that."

He said that most of the names and numbers run by the bureau did not match up to Social Security records, and that he was unaware of cases of governmental abuse in the requests. Mr. Huse added that "on a big-volume name check like that you wouldn't really know if you had a frivolous name thrown in or not."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ end quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~

So the issue really is as far as I'm concerned (and really most American's), "Will the FBI swoop into my house and drag me and mine away because of info shared between government offices." Conspiracy Theorists will cry out that the issue as they see it is to protect ALL Americans from ALL government conspiracies. It may indeed be their intent but is that what they would DO if by stopping interagency sharing of info they would allow an evil person to continue his devious plots and plans unabated. Who would be howling if the government agencies had the info to take the bad guy out of circulation but would or could not because of interagency squabbles. It looks to me like the Social Security and FBI put a few safeguards in place to watch for abuse. I say they should continue working hand in hand as they are and at least share if SS #'s are valid and more info if they are not. Where do we draw the line otherwise?

Howl Away! I Think it is Funny.

OK, Rove Rant! My rant, not his. It is my blog so I get to say what I want. Rove will have to start his own blog. - I'm really enjoying the ballyhoo and watching the dust fly higher in the breeze.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karl Rove the senior political adviser to President Bush, said at a fund-raiser in Midtown for the Conservative Party of New York State, "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers," - End Quote -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The White House is refusing to paint him with a laser and blast him out of existence. Good for them. I wrote a quick note to president@whitehouse.gov saying, - quote - "Stand firm - No apology for or from Rove - Laugh and smirk each time
it is brought up. That'll get their goat more than anything." - end quote -
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Now the moon howlers are out in force ballyhooing how much they support our troops. Viet Nam veteran John (I voted for the money before I voted against the money after I voted against my voting again)Kerry is running around trying to look presidential and rubbing his hands like he's trying to wring the ketchup off 'em. What a jerk and I'll say that to his face.
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Told of Mr. Rove's remarks, Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, replied: "In New York, where everyone unified after 9/11, the last thing we need is somebody who seeks to divide us for political purposes."

- prying1 sez: Schumer is a rectal aperture showing his ignorance or trying to deceive us. - Look no further than the purpose of politics in the U.S. which is TO divide citizens into camps so they can elect people that will push forward the ideals and values of the larger camp. Another jerk and I'll say that to his face too.
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(Boston.com) White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Bush wouldn't ask Rove to apologize. McClellan said Rove was referring to people who have sought to fight terrorism with the law instead of by war, though he declined to name anyone specifically.

"There are many who have looked at the war on terrorism and said it is a law enforcement matter, that we should prosecute people," McClellan said. "The president recognizes that it is a war and that we must stay on the offensive, we must take the fight to the enemy."

prying1 sez: McClellan declined to name anyone specifically. The record of the past few weeks and months is readily available. The liberal howlers can go through the blogs of the past few weeks and see which side wants to fight to win the war by destroying and/or detaining reprobate terrorists and which side wants to throw lawn furniture all around trying to trip up the process.