tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58178152011-04-21T16:46:04.209-07:00<center>My rants about news around the world. <br><br> Dan Kronstadt - Shadow Hills, CA.</center>Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-87908681012243709252008-02-21T13:03:00.000-08:002008-02-21T13:04:07.614-08:00

NPR's Morning Edition interviewed Congressman Silvestre Reyes, a Democrat, on the Protect America Act. There is a link to the story here - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19226004. Here is a note I sent them about the interview.There were a few points left out of your discussion with Congressman Reyes. Regarding the retroactive immunity - the issue is what do we want

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-92095578982504581512007-03-25T07:12:00.000-07:002007-03-25T07:17:12.420-07:00

CBS News Sunday morning did a story about an artist named Martin Ramirez, who created ost of his art while in a mental instititution in Northern California between 1948 and 1963. His art would have remained unknown except for the fact that a Professor named Tarmo Pasto discovered Ramírez and began to save the large drawings he made.But CBS left out some information - when Professor Pasto "started

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-89700203903884745732007-02-16T13:02:00.000-08:002007-02-16T13:05:44.843-08:00

No, its not all George's fault. But he could have done more. I do think it was funny to hear Tony Snow saying "Prez Bush has spoken out about global warming from the very beginning of his presidency." Talk about rewriting history!Everyone should read the transcript here of a discussion between Fareed Zakaria, who is Editor of Newsweek International, and a guy named Thomas Homer-Dixon, author of a

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1170018029833553992007-01-28T12:57:00.000-08:002007-01-28T13:01:05.573-08:00

I can't overcome my 1960's upbringing, that told me that, generally, war is not the answer.I do believe we should not leave it broken if we can avoid that. The question is whether more troops increase the chance of that, or not. I would trust the new General's opinion, if I can believe it is really his, and not one that was given to him, or a compromise between what he believes, and what his

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1169858902809967082007-01-26T16:47:00.000-08:002007-01-26T16:51:26.216-08:00

Here is an interesting article from the Pew Forum on Religion, about Iran, Shiites, Sunnis, Iraq, the middle east, etc. The first half is transcript of a speech, and the second half is a transcript of questions and answers.The speech is kind of dense. A couple of things I found interesting:- Iran, and Shiite's generally, were supportive of the US invasion, because they wanted a democratic,

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1148918044874640192006-05-29T08:36:00.000-07:002006-05-29T08:54:06.006-07:00

The LA Times published a story on Sunday that just strikes me as the most absurd situation. Some time ago, the pope decided that it was not necessary to kneel at the point in the mass where the priest consecrates the wine and the wafers. Instead, the choice would be left to the local bishop. Well, in several US churches, the bishop decided parishioners should NOT kneel. And some of them are

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1148916956665153192006-05-29T08:21:00.000-07:002006-05-29T08:36:05.626-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, the food column in the LA Times' West Magazine had an article about making tamales. I wrote a letter about this, and about Angel and Tootie and the family, and was fortunate enough to have it published:http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/west/la-tm-letters22.1may28,1,5872166,print.story?coll=la-headlines-west

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1147791131015955632006-05-16T07:49:00.000-07:002006-05-16T07:52:25.026-07:00

Well, based on all the talking heads on the news yesterday, it does not seem like Bush has convinced any of the conservatives to change their positions on "border control before anything else." He probably doesn't have the troops or the $'s - but I wonder what would have happened if he had been bold and said he was going to send 20,000 or 25,000 troops - would that have broken the stalemate?The

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1147707498974071842006-05-15T08:35:00.000-07:002006-05-15T08:38:18.976-07:00

I have a tough time with the Bush administration's position that they cannot discuss some of these things - for example, to change the laws so they would be in compliance - because it would help the terrorists. This article makes it clear why and how the law should be changed, without revealing anything that isn't common knowledge.Another example is the leaked story about the CIA secret prisons.

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1147707341008384912006-05-15T08:32:00.000-07:002006-05-15T08:35:41.586-07:00

This is an interesting article about how technology has evolved and forced changes in the way we monitor (notice I did not say "spy") on telephone calls. Here's one particular section: In an essay published next month in the New York University Review of Law and Security, titled "Whispering Wires and Warrantless Wiretaps: Data Mining and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance," K. Taipale,

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1137428357346735002006-01-16T08:19:00.000-08:002006-01-16T08:24:38.480-08:00

Glum Democrats Can't See Halting Bush on Courts - New York Times The Democratic Senators presumably knew they did not have the votes to defeat Alito. What they should have done was use the hearings as an opportunity to educate the American people about the real impact of "conservative" jurists. And they need to continue this effort during the 2006 mid-term elections, and the 2008 Presidential

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1135785177182837732005-12-28T07:52:00.000-08:002005-12-28T07:52:57.216-08:00

- Many of the arguments by the Bush administration about the legality of domestic surveillance talk about how important it is - why it is necessary. This has NOTHING to do with whether it is legal.- Many of the arguments justify these surveillance based on the fact that the president has extra powers because we are at war. Are we? Will it ever end? How will we know?- We need to stop thinking

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1135260577922022312005-12-22T06:09:00.000-08:002005-12-22T06:09:37.930-08:00

Domestic surveillance defended - Hardball with Chris Matthews - MSNBC.com Domestic surveillance defendedSen. George Allen backs Administration's secret use of wiretapsHere's a letter I sent to Hardball: Regarding your stories about Bush's authorization of surveillance on American citizens - and the support by Bush's supporters for his legal right to do so - you need to discuss the fact they are

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1125942572457813002005-09-05T10:47:00.000-07:002005-09-05T22:49:35.136-07:00

Hey, my email to Fred Langa about spam got published in his newletter! It's the same think as my post about ISPs blocking too much good email as spam.

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1125938168145765602005-09-05T09:23:00.000-07:002005-09-05T10:41:11.636-07:00

Do you watch "Who Wants to be a Millionaire"? Have you noticed that the AOL people who participate in the "Ask the Audience" segment are consistently DUMBER than the actual audience?For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about - Who Wants to be a Millionaire is a TV game show where the contest is asked a series of multiple choice questions. If they get all 15 correct, they win a

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1125676127075631102005-09-02T08:19:00.000-07:002005-09-02T08:48:47.136-07:00

I have 2 thoughts on the response to the devastation from Hurricane Katrina.1) Is this the pace of response we would see if there was a large terrorist attack? Presumably it is. Perhaps this is bigger than almost any other nuclear attack - but what about a small nuclear device in NYC? I guess that would be more localized. But it just seems like THIS is what SOMEONE (FEMA? Dept of Homeland

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1125092245375667282005-08-26T14:30:00.000-07:002005-08-27T10:42:23.556-07:00

On Aug 7, John Loftus reported on the Fox News program "Weekend Live" that a terrorist is living in a house in La Habra, CA. And he gives the address. And the report and the address get picked up, and spread around, and posted on the internet. Except the "terrorist" moved out three years ago. And the family that lives there now - definitely NOT terrorists - starts getting nasty phone calls, and

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1124993517100356472005-08-25T11:05:00.000-07:002005-09-05T10:43:41.730-07:00

Bruce Schneier always has interesting insights in his Crypto-Gram newsletter. He wrote about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the development of their Secure Flight system. His story is available here. I urge you to subscribe to his newsletter.I had a few thoughts about "testing the use of commercial data".I worked in a traditional IT environment for 35 years, and "testing"

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1124994407804761262005-08-25T02:07:00.000-07:002005-08-27T08:01:05.183-07:00

Fred Langa publishes an excellent newsletter about a variety of computer issues. Recently, he mentioned that personal emails he sent to some subscribers were rejected by spam filters.I consider these false positives a serious problem - they have effected my own personal email as well as my business email. I wanted to talk about my experience with two different web and email hosting services.I had

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1124993802263008372005-08-22T14:31:00.000-07:002005-08-27T08:05:56.503-07:00

Warren Olney is the host of No Way out on Public Radio. This is an excellent program that brings together authoritive voices on both sides of many important issues, and forcing them to engage in a real debate about those issues.I was listening to today's show, about the war in Iraq, and I had a few reactions. The various speakers talked about the best and worst possible outcomes. I think the

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1124993698008129992005-08-17T11:13:00.000-07:002005-09-05T22:27:59.480-07:00

On the Today show, Matt Lauer did a story with one of the US Generals there - sorry I did not get his name. He asked a lot of good questions - but I always want more.I wish he had asked another question about the "mission." I think most Americans perceive the mission now as "suppress the insurgency (we cannot kill it), and survive until there are enough Iraqi troops to do a reasonable job against

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1124994221363134622005-08-11T07:41:00.000-07:002005-08-27T08:06:55.690-07:00

Walt Mossberg writes a column in the Wall Street Journal - a recent story talked about information organizers.If this interestes you, you might want to take a look at Keynote. It's a free organizer from Tranglos Software. I converted from Info Select because I got tired of paying $50/year for their software subscription. Both IS and Keynote had a couple of key security features I considered

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1106842039342337292005-01-27T08:06:00.000-08:002005-08-27T08:08:11.116-07:00

Here's an email I just send to the President:I disagree with a lot of your policies, but let me point out something that I think annoys a lot of Americans - OK, a lot of Democrats - that you can and should change, and would make you less objectionable.When you talk about serious matters, you always end up with a chuckle in your voice - as if you are saying "why don't you people get this? you

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1106245628575548442005-01-20T10:25:00.000-08:002005-08-27T08:09:39.343-07:00

Seems to me the law can be pretty stupid at times. A while back, the Supreme Court ruled that the Guantanamo detainees had the right to invoke the habeas corpus law in asking federal judges for relief. Now, a Federal District Court judge has ruled that the detainees could not be granted what they had asked for - writs of habeas corpus. He made a distinction between the right to FILE for a habeas

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1104854114794932492005-01-04T07:53:00.000-08:002005-08-27T08:12:21.233-07:00

Did you see the reports that the rich Arab states in the Middle East have pledged relatively little for Tsunami relief? Qatar and Saudi Arabia each pledged $10 million. UAE has pledged $20 million. Kuwait has pledged $10 million. There was an editorial in a Kuwaiti paper criticizing these govt's for not pledging enough. Kuwait has a budget surplus of $10 billion, and just distributed $700 million

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1094050858069433912004-09-01T07:55:00.000-07:002005-08-27T08:13:21.756-07:00

You know, it's funny that everyone in politics is so religious these days - but the one thing we are afraid of is a religious democracy in Iraq that might not like America. We don't like religious people genrally - we like Judeo-Christian religious people - with a heavy emphasis on the Christian side of that hyphenate. The Jews are just there to be the victims when the Rapture comes - perhaps

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1094049505050275652004-09-01T07:29:00.000-07:002005-08-27T08:15:50.256-07:00

While listening to the Republican National Convention - remember what National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said about the Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr: "I don't think we can trust al-Sadr. I think we have to see action, not just words."The same thing applies to politicians. When the Republicans SAY something about Bush, think about what he has actually DONE.As for Kerry - again, I don't

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1094020707323252552004-08-31T23:20:00.000-07:002005-08-27T08:18:17.580-07:00

Jeez, I hated watching the Republican National Convention today. I'll probably hate it more tomorrow, but let me vent about today first.Where to start?A-h-n-a-l-d! as in Schwarzenneger - or however he spells his name. Like Bush, people don't like his policies, but they like him. What is UP with that? Seems like we are trapped in a world devoted to The Cult Of Personality. People must be scared,

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1093995567055219792004-08-31T16:30:00.000-07:002005-08-27T08:19:42.443-07:00

So Bush says we cannot win the war on terror, then flip-flops and says we can. What a hypocrite!The latest quote is that we will win the war on terror by spreading democracy. (Or did McCaine say this? Who cares!) The good news, I guess, is that we will no longer be supporting dictators, right? Only democracies.Personally, I don't think spreading democracy will make us any safer. What they

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1093241672950018492004-08-22T23:09:00.000-07:002005-08-27T08:21:12.780-07:00

Is this the best resin's that John Kerry can use against the attacks on him from the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth? That they are in league with the Bush campaign? How about "I stand by my record, I stand by the statements of those who served with me - now let's talk about something important."I despair for his campaign - he seems complete inept at speaking clearly about anything relevant.

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1091457110637130692004-08-02T07:26:00.000-07:002005-08-27T08:23:08.886-07:00

I was watching Meet The Press on NBC yesterday, and Zell Miller, the democrat from Georgia who is supporting George Bush, was there.One of the things he said was we are safer now, because the terrorists are concentrating on Iraq, and we would rather have them there, than attacking us in the streets of the US.That's saying we are glad there is a mess over there. Did anyone argue that when

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1091409873346393152004-08-01T18:24:00.000-07:002005-08-27T08:24:13.910-07:00

For those who fault Kerry for voting against the $87 billion for the war - first, he wanted to separate the $67 billion in troop aid from the $20 billion in Iraq aid, so he could vote FOR the former while adding conditions to the latter. Second, he wated to make sure there was some FUNDING for the Iraq aid component, as opposed to more deficit spending.Does anyone really believe he would have

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817815.post-1090276369706862952004-07-19T15:30:00.000-07:002005-08-27T08:24:55.976-07:00

So - Al Jazeera has published a code of ethics for its news coverage. Maybe now Fox News can do the same.

Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954287169843899436noreply@blogger.com0