All Hank, all the time.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
You tell me.

The folks at the New Republic say Leo Strauss and Norman Podhoretz

The folks at Kos say Rummy and Wolfowitz

The folks at DU say a consortium of Israel, Fox News and Halliburton

On the big questions, I think the buck stops with the President. When she lost face a couple of weeks ago trying to get Israel to back off a bit, I think it was because she was bluffing and Israel knew that Bush would back them to the hilt. The last few weeks, with Israel, what you see is Bush's foreign policy.

[Adder]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
The point I was trying to get at, though not spelling out, is that I am less interested in changing the rules than I am in changing that system so that security personnel are empowered to use informed and reasonable discretion to find the people who are a threat. Saying you're going to start profiling is like saying you're going to start using computers -- not necessarily a good or bad idea.

There was a guy on Market Place on NPR yesterday talking about how the airlines already have information that they could you to build a risk profile (name, age, address, trip details, etct), and advocating a trusted traveller program under which people would provide yet more personal information.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
Here's more from Carter:



It's been 60-something years, so he thinks it's about time to ignore the Holocaust, don't you?

You don't much care about context, do you? He is saying that you can ignore the "historical facts" with reference to the notion of including German troops in the international force in Lebanon.

I don't think he is suggesting that we take the Holocaust out of the history books and convert Auschwitz to a water park.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
On the big questions, I think the buck stops with the President. When she lost face a couple of weeks ago trying to get Israel to back off a bit, I think it was because she was bluffing and Israel knew that Bush would back them to the hilt. The last few weeks, with Israel, what you see is Bush's foreign policy.

I think possibly the point may be, whose foreign policy is Bush implementing?

But I might be wrong.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
I think possibly the point may be, whose foreign policy is Bush implementing?

Duh. God's.

[Adder]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
You don't much care about context, do you? He is saying that you can ignore the "historical facts" with reference to the notion of including German troops in the international force in Lebanon.

I don't think he is suggesting that we take the Holocaust out of the history books and convert Auschwitz to a water park.

I was going to respond similarly, and to point out that I think we can trust that a few German troops wearing blue helmuts will not create a risk of a repeat. But then I decided it might be a question worth asking the Israelis. I could see them not wanting their borders partolled by Germans for emotional reasons even if I think there are no valid geopolitical reasons.

[Adder]

Federal Judge Orders Halt to Warrantless Wiretapping
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 3:42 p.m. ET

DETROIT (AP) -- A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency's program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.

''Plaintiffs have prevailed, and the public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution,'' Taylor wrote in her 43-page opinion.

The Justice Department appealed the ruling and issued a statement calling the program ''an essential tool for the intelligence community in the war on terror.''

''In the ongoing conflict with al-Qaida and its allies, the president has the primary duty under the Constitution to protect the American people,'' the department said. ''The Constitution gives the president the full authority necessary to carry out that solemn duty, and we believe the program is lawful and protects civil liberties.''

The ruling won't take immediate effect so Taylor can hear a Justice request for a stay pending its appeal.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of journalists, scholars and lawyers who say the program has made it difficult for them to do their jobs. They believe many of their overseas contacts are likely targets of the program, which involves wiretapping conversations between people in the U.S. and those in other countries.

The government argued that the program is well within the president's authority, but said proving that would require revealing state secrets.

The ACLU said the state-secrets argument was irrelevant because the Bush administration already had publicly revealed enough information about the program for Taylor to rule.

''At its core, today's ruling addresses the abuse of presidential power and reaffirms the system of checks and balances that's necessary to our democracy,'' ACLU executive director Anthony Romero told reporters after the ruling.

He called the opinion ''another nail in the coffin in the Bush administration's legal strategy in the war on terror.''

While siding with the ACLU on the wiretapping issue, Taylor dismissed a separate claim by the group over NSA data-mining of phone records. She said not enough had been publicly revealed about that program to support the claim and further litigation would jeopardize state secrets.

The lawsuit alleged that the NSA ''uses artificial intelligence aids to search for keywords and analyze patterns in millions of communications at any given time.'' Multiple lawsuits have been filed related to data-mining against phone companies, accusing them of improperly turning over records to the NSA.

However, the data-mining was only a small part of the Detroit suit, said Ann Beeson, the ACLU's associate legal director and the lead attorney on the case.

Beeson predicted the government would appeal the wiretapping ruling and request that the order to halt the program be postponed while the case makes its way through the system. She said the ACLU had not yet decided whether it would oppose such a postponement.

link

[Here is the decision. -- T.S.]

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Adder
a few German troops wearing blue helmuts

deliberate?

[Adder]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
deliberate?

Sadly, no.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Adder
Federal Judge Orders Halt to Warrantless Wiretapping
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 3:42 p.m. ET

DETROIT (AP) -- A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it.

link

[Here is the decision. -- T.S.]

In related news, Karl Rove was so happy he wet his pants.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Adder
Federal Judge Orders Halt to Warrantless Wiretapping
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 3:42 p.m. ET

DETROIT (AP) -- A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency's program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.

''Plaintiffs have prevailed, and the public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution,'' Taylor wrote in her 43-page opinion.

The Justice Department appealed the ruling and issued a statement calling the program ''an essential tool for the intelligence community in the war on terror.''

''In the ongoing conflict with al-Qaida and its allies, the president has the primary duty under the Constitution to protect the American people,'' the department said. ''The Constitution gives the president the full authority necessary to carry out that solemn duty, and we believe the program is lawful and protects civil liberties.''

The ruling won't take immediate effect so Taylor can hear a Justice request for a stay pending its appeal.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of journalists, scholars and lawyers who say the program has made it difficult for them to do their jobs. They believe many of their overseas contacts are likely targets of the program, which involves wiretapping conversations between people in the U.S. and those in other countries.

The government argued that the program is well within the president's authority, but said proving that would require revealing state secrets.

The ACLU said the state-secrets argument was irrelevant because the Bush administration already had publicly revealed enough information about the program for Taylor to rule.

''At its core, today's ruling addresses the abuse of presidential power and reaffirms the system of checks and balances that's necessary to our democracy,'' ACLU executive director Anthony Romero told reporters after the ruling.

He called the opinion ''another nail in the coffin in the Bush administration's legal strategy in the war on terror.''

While siding with the ACLU on the wiretapping issue, Taylor dismissed a separate claim by the group over NSA data-mining of phone records. She said not enough had been publicly revealed about that program to support the claim and further litigation would jeopardize state secrets.

The lawsuit alleged that the NSA ''uses artificial intelligence aids to search for keywords and analyze patterns in millions of communications at any given time.'' Multiple lawsuits have been filed related to data-mining against phone companies, accusing them of improperly turning over records to the NSA.

However, the data-mining was only a small part of the Detroit suit, said Ann Beeson, the ACLU's associate legal director and the lead attorney on the case.

Beeson predicted the government would appeal the wiretapping ruling and request that the order to halt the program be postponed while the case makes its way through the system. She said the ACLU had not yet decided whether it would oppose such a postponement.

link

[Here is the decision. -- T.S.]

here's where all that stuff Ty was explaining about the Supreme Court and District courts kicks in.

[SlaveNoMore]

Tyrone Slothrop
In related news, Karl Rove was so happy he wet his pants.

I was going to say Joe Lieberman, but you made the point

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
here's where all that stuff Ty was explaining about the Supreme Court and District courts kicks in.

All you need to know is that this will be neither the last ruling in the case nor the one that anyone ultimately cares about.

Query for appellate mavens: Given the district court enjoined the government from continuing the program, and assuming that the injunction will be stayed on appeal, will the Sixth Circuit expedite the case? Will the Sixth Circuit rule before November?

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Question for constitutional scholars: If President Bush has the Article II power to order the wiretapping notwithstanding FISA, assuming that FISA forbids such activity, why does he have to obey an injunction to stop?

[SlaveNoMore]

The trouble begins here....

Tri-State Airport in Wayne County has been evacuated. Officials ordered the main terminal closed to passengers around 11:30 this morning.

The Transportation Security Adminstration says a woman is being detained at the airport after she tried to go through security with two vials of an explosive material in her carry-on.

Airport Director Larry Saylers tells 13News a 28 year-old women is being questioned. He says the women born in Pakistan, relocated to Detroit and recently moved to Huntington.

The woman was trying to board US Airways Express flight 4168 from Huntington to Charlotte this morning. The flight was allowed to leave, but the women was detained. The FBI is handling the investigation and has the woman in custody. Officials have not released the women's name.

West Virignia State Police robots are moving the vials to a remote location of the airport for testing and possible detonation..