Rule of law?

AFP:Egypt Muslims burn Christian shops. Some people follow their own rules. And we wonder sometimes why there are skeptics of the term "religion of peace."

Contractor: New Zumix building project to be completed this month

ZUMIX project near completion

WOBURN, EAST BOSTON, MA, ISSUED NOVEMBER 20, 2009…Landmark Structures Corporation, a leading full service General Contractor/Construction Management Company since 1993, anticipates a November completion date for a joint venture renovation project between ZUMIX and the East Boston Community Development Corporation.

Landmark Structures has served as General Contractor for the estimated $2 million project that encompasses the renovation of a 9,000 square foot former firehouse at 260 Sumner Street in East Boston into the new home of ZUMIX, a non-profit cultural organization dedicated to building community through music and the arts.

ZUMIX and the East Boston Community Development Corporation, in a joint venture, purchased the former fire house from the City of Boston. More
File Photo: Eastboston.com

21st Century Schziod Man -- The Ian Wallace Run

WOW! The late Ian Wallace with Marc Bonilla on guitar rendering magnificently an "uncanny" classic.

CIvil liberties under Obama; A word to the wise

How can this be under the poseur Obama?

In a case that raises questions about online journalism and privacy rights, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a formal request to an independent news site ordering it to provide details of all reader visits on a certain day.

The grand jury subpoena also required the Philadelphia-based Indymedia.us Web site "not to disclose the existence of this request" unless authorized by the Justice Department, a gag order that presents an unusual quandary for any news organization.

Kristina Clair, a 34-year old Linux administrator living in Philadelphia who provides free server space for Indymedia.us, said she was shocked to receive the Justice Department's subpoena. (The Independent Media Center is a left-of-center amalgamation of journalists and advocates that – according to their principles of unity and mission statement – work toward "promoting social and economic justice" and "social change.")

The subpoena (PDF) from U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison in Indianapolis demanded "all IP traffic to and from www.indymedia.us" on June 25, 2008. It instructed Clair to "include IP addresses, times, and any other identifying information," including e-mail addresses, physical addresses, registered accounts, and Indymedia readers' Social Security Numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and so on.

"I didn't think anything we were doing was worthy of any (federal) attention," Clair said in a telephone interview with CBSNews.com on Monday. After talking to other Indymedia volunteers, Clair ended up calling the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, which represented her at no cost.

Who's watching Eric Holder?

A little history lesson: the victims of Communism

Masters of the Universe; Too big to fail

This is a joke right?

With Goldman taking a daily beating in the PR department for everything from its runaway profits to "Government Sachs" conspiracies to swine flu vaccines, Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein decided to give his side of the firm's story in a lengthy interview with The Sunday Times of London.

But some things are probably better left unsaid, most notably Blankfein's declaration that Goldman is "doing God's work."

It's an unfortunate phrase on many levels. What Blankfein was trying to say is Goldman serves a "social purpose," as The Sunday Times reported he also did say. "We help companies to grow by helping them to raise capital," Blankfein said. "Companies that grow create wealth. This, in turn, allows people to have jobs that create more growth and more wealth. It's a virtuous cycle."

There is an element of truth to that statement but it shows a level of tone-deafness that's surprising, even coming from a Wall Street CEO. As Henry and I discuss in the accompanying video, there are concrete steps Goldman could take to refurbish its image, which is going to take another hit in the court of public opinion.

Given the ongoing outrage about Goldman's bonuses - estimated to exceed $20 billion for 2009 - a year after the company was rescued by the U.S. government (whether they admit it or not) - Goldman's supporters are probably wishing Blankfein had chosen to speak softly and carry a big checkbook.

Remember he's a traitor

ABC News:

U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News.
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Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan tried to make contact with people linked to al Qaeda.

It is not known whether the intelligence agencies informed the Army that one of its officers was seeking to connect with suspected al Qaeda figures, the officials said.

One senior lawmaker said the CIA had, so far, refused to brief the intelligence committees on what, if any, knowledge they had about Hasan's efforts.

You got that right

ED MASON: "Conservatives whacked the president for his apparent light-hearted approach to addressing the tragic shootings at Fort Hood, which was indeed puzzling. During a presser at the White House Tribal Nation’s Conference, Obama “buried the lead,” as we say, and delivered some impromptu shoutouts and humor before addressing the killing spree and offering comforting remarks. President Bush would have been skewered for doing the same."

Peter Gelzinis's word processor gets ahead of him?

A year after POETIC?: "Given the tenor of this past year, there is something grimly poetic about President Obama closing it out sandwiched between a bitter partisan slog to get a health-care bill through Congress, and the massacre of 13 U.S. soldiers, coupled with the wounding of 29, by a fellow soldier of Muslim descent at Fort Hood Army Base in Texas."

I disagree

Macca's hard on himself and the Beatles. As a songwriting duo I have yet to find any better than Lennon and McCartney.

Some thoughts after Ft. Hood from Cicero

A little lesson from Marcus Tullius Cicero:

"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear."

Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is an American-born cancer; he was like us, part of the melting pot.

The damage is done. But how confident is the public in the President's response?

Moreover, what will the President do about sleeper cells in the United States? We know this much: the Sainted One does not have the fortitude to call treason by its name.

A little wisdom from the Angry Economist

Collectivism sucks.
Really it does. Fear the smart set; they think they never make mistakes.

Stepfather: Girl missing 18 years 'doing great' after ordeal | Chronicle | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Stepfather: Girl missing 18 years 'doing great' after ordeal | Chronicle | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Jeffrey Bell: Bob Novak, Truth Seeker - WSJ.com

Jeffrey Bell: Bob Novak, Truth Seeker - WSJ.com

East Boston News: Advice on spyware

East Boston News: Advice on spyware

The New York Times is so out of touch

No spread on page 1 of today's New York Times. With the Yankees capturing their 40th pennant, one would think that the Gray Lady would give up a little space (and a lot of love) for the damn Yankees. But last night's victory earned no front page love.

Is the New York Times that out of touch? Can this be one reason why fewer people are reading the dead-tree-medium?

Or is because the New York Times thinks of itself as bigger than New York?

It's a shame that notorious globalism has shunted aside notorious localism. New Yorkers have something to cheer; you would think this would be a big deal!

Yeah the Bushes have skin in the game

DAILY BEAST: A Bush Goes to War

Gotta see this1

It certainly might get loud and maybe a bit edifying. It Might Get Loud

Tunku's spyware ordeal.

Beware of spyware pop-ups.It's a time-killer and you will never get that part of your life back.

Tough Windows 7 critic

John Dvorak is hard to please.

Having followed Microsoft's exploits since its inception, I can safely say the best anyone can hope for with Windows 7 is moderate success. For all of the fanfare surrounding the new OS, Win 7 is really just a Vista martini. The operating system may have two olives instead of one this time out, but it's still made with the same cheap Microsoft vodka.

A little Tin Machine in the morning.

Ah yes a little Tin Machine rattling in the morning. Bowie rules!

The smarter they are the dumber they are: Harvard edition

BLOOMBERG:

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Harvard University’s failed bet that interest rates would rise cost the world’s richest school at least $500 million in payments to escape derivatives that backfired.

Harvard paid $497.6 million to investment banks during the fiscal year ended June 30 to get out of $1.1 billion of interest-rate swaps intended to hedge variable-rate debt for capital projects, the school’s annual report said. The university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said it also agreed to pay $425 million over 30 to 40 years to offset an additional $764 million in swaps.

The transactions began losing value last year as central banks slashed benchmark lending rates, forcing the university to post collateral with lenders, said Daniel Shore, Harvard’s chief financial officer. Some agreements require that the parties post collateral if there are significant changes in interest rates.

“When we went into the fall, we had some serious liquidity management issues we were dealing with and the collateral postings on the swaps was one,” Shore said in an interview yesterday. “In evaluating our liquidity position, we wanted to get some stability and some safety.”

Harvard sold $2.5 billion in bonds in the fiscal year, in part to pay for the swap exit, even as the school’s endowment recorded its biggest loss in 40 years, the report released yesterday said. This is the first time the university has detailed the cost of exiting its swaps.

What is it about Harvard alumni, you can always tell one but you can't tell him much. Blowback on know-it-alls.

Nobel Laureate Oliver Williamson's Econ 224 class

Nobel Laureate Oliver Williamson isn't exactly an economic formalist and we could probably use fewer of them these days. The course outline from his course in "The Economics of Institutions," is here. 

Hat tip: Organizations and Markets.

The enemy we face

Where is the Gay Left on this one?.

On October 6, 2009, Rahim Mohammadi was executed in Tabriz, a city in northwest Iran, after being convicted of sexual abuse and rape during sexual relations between males (a homosexual act called Lavat).

According to Rahim’s lawyer (here), Mr. Mohammad Mostafayi, there was not enough evidence presented to the court to prove such accusations; the court nevertheless decided that once a person is convicted of Lavat, he must be executed. Mostafayi, who had not been informed of the court’s decision once it was handed down - and was only contacted after his client Rahim had been executed - wrote a letter of further explanation to the authorities.

A complete lack of due process and not a peep from the Left!

ALE agents seize 929 gallons of moonshine :: WRAL.com

What is it about fighting organized crime, government doesn't like the competition?

WRAL.COM: ALE agents seize 929 gallons of moonshine

Wilkesboro, N.C. — State Alcohol Law Enforcement agents seized 929 gallons of moonshine Wednesday and arrested a Wilkesboro man, authorities said Friday.

Roger Lee Nance, of 1117 Shew Ridge Mission Road, was charged with possession of non-tax paid liquor, possession of non-tax-paid liquor for the purpose of selling, and possession of equipment and ingredients intended for the use in the manufacture of an alcoholic beverage.

“This is one of the biggest seizures of white liquor I’ve seen come out of the mountains in my career,” ALE Director John Ledford said in statement.

I'm sure the government did it for the children!

More hate crimes against Christopher Columbus

Out of the plumbers bags of tricks. When will this be considered harrassment?

DENVER—A Denver parade in honor of Christopher Columbus is on—despite a phony e-mail that circulated Thursday saying the downtown celebration was canceled for lack of funds.

The Sons of Italy's Columbus Day Parade Committee in Denver was shocked to learn of the e-mail sent to the media, which was signed by Sons of Italy President Richard SaBell. The fake e-mail said protesters had "ruined" the event and tarnished the legacy of an Italian hero.

SaBell rushed to assure people the e-mail was a hoax after local media and The Associated Press started reporting Saturday's parade was off. He said he reported the phony e-mail to Denver police.

"I feel violated," said SaBell, adding he didn't know who was behind the hoax. "This whole thing is bogus. The parade was never off."

Denver police said its computer crimes unit is investigating.

Colorado has observed Columbus Day since 1907 and is credited with being first to make the day a state holiday. Columbus Day has since become a federal holiday.