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Back when SCOTUS Justice Sam Alito wrote the opinion booting the ACLU-argued challenge to Section 702, he said the plaintiffs' worries — that the US government was collecting their international communications under Section 702 — were too speculative to give them standing to challenge the constitutionality of the statute.
In sum, respondents' speculative chain of possibilities does not establish that injury based on potential future surveillance is certainly impending or is fairly traceable to §1881a.
The named plaintiff in that suit — the NGO wildly speculating that the US government was reading its international communication with human rights victims and others — was Amnesty International.
Today, UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal informed Amnesty International that unnamed UK government agencies have been intercepting their communications.
In a shocking revelation, the UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) today notified Amnesty International that UK government agencies had spied on the organization by intercepting, accessing and storing its communications.
"After 18 months of litigation and all the denials and subterfuge that entailed, we now have confirmation that we were in fact subjected to UK government mass surveillance. It's outrageous that what has been often presented as being the domain of despotic rulers has been occurring on British soil, by the British government," said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International's Secretary General.
Admittedly, this doesn't confirm that Amnesty has been swept up in 702 collection, but given the likelihood that one of the agencies, plural, that has intercepted Amnesty's communications is GCHQ, and given the broad sharing between it and its Five Eyes partner NSA, it is almost certain NSA has those communications as well (if they didn't actually collect some of them).
Amnesty is trying to gain clarity from the US on whether it, too, has spied on the NGO.
But, predictably, Amnesty had a better idea of what a threat the government posed for its work than Sammy Alito did.
This weekend is the Grand Prix of Bahrain at the International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. Three years ago I wrote about the local protests in Bahrain seeking some modicum of civil liberties and fair treatment. Instead there was a violent crackdown by the tyrannical ruling Khalifa family leading to bloodied protestors and dead bodies near the track.
There is no good reason, save for greed, that Formula One is in Bahrain this weekend but, nevertheless, there it is.
What might the journalists report on were they allowed in Bahrain? Maybe the petrol bomb attack members of the Force India racing team were caught up in. The incident so shook the team that it withdrew from the second practice session and at least one team member left the country due to safety concerns.
How is this occurring? Why is the race still being sanctioned? Money and hegemony.
F1 Grand Prix is big money. Really big money.
Big money and the mighty US war machine are a potent combination and, between the two of them, are permitting the disgrace occurring this weekend in Bahrain. It is a stain on international human rights, and it is a stain on Formula One. F1 and Ecclestone cravenly hide behind the false premise that they are a business and would be allowing themselves to be politicized if they were to cancel the Bahrain Grand Prix again.
The USA war machine is, obviously, the Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain. That, too, is of big money and logistical importance to US Mideast hegemony. Same as the huge race sanctioning fee Bernie Ecclestone and F1 is important to their bottom line. By last report, F1 charged over $40 million as the sanctioning fee for the Bahrain race, which is far more lucrative a piece of income than many of the traditional grand prix in Europe and elsewhere. It is raw greed.
So, after canceling the 2011 race under duress, and showcasing the civil liberty atrocities of the Khalifas and their regime in 2012, there has been a lot of progress, right? There is so little mention of strife now that it must be better, right?
Sure Bernie Ecclestone put some lip gloss on the money pig:
Formula One has long-insisted this is none of its business. "We're not here, or we don't go anywhere, to judge how a country is run," Bernie Ecclestone pointed out two years ago. The damning Amnesty report, however, was preceded by another announcement with considerably less fanfare. In it the group Americans for Democracy on Human Rights in Bahrain said that it had concluded an agreement with F1 that the sport would begin a policy of analysing the human rights impact it might have on host nations. "Formula One Group has committed to taking a number of further steps to strengthen its processes in relation to human rights," it read.
But there is the Amnesty report, and as laid out in the Guardian article from yesterday linked above, it is not pretty. The same denial of speech and liberty, not to mention brutal oppression still maintains in Bahrain.
Worse yet, it is clear that the presence of Formula One in Bahrain doesn't just ignore the brutal problems, it is a significant cause of them:
He does not believe this was an isolated event. "Many journalists come to cover F1 and maybe that's why they arrested my father," he says, adding that it was part of a wider crackdown that has occurred in areas where there are regular protests. "If you go to the villages, you will see them surrounded by police, any gathering of six or seven people chanting will be attacked with tear gas or Kevlar bullets or birdshot; the government are not allowing any protests to happen there."
While there are human rights issues in other countries the sport visits, the activists claim that, unlike in China for example, it is Formula One's very presence in Bahrain that makes the situation worse. Maryam al-Khawaja, the co-director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights who is living in Denmark having been sentenced to one year in prison in absentia for allegedly assaulting a police officer, describes the reforms since 2011 as both a smokescreen and a whitewash.
"The problem is that the F1 isn't just being used as part of that whitewash, the F1 actually causes human rights violations in Bahrain," she says. "Right before the race we have the government going on an arrest spree to try and prevent protest. We have protesters cracked down on during the F1 and the violence that is used is usually more than what we see for the rest of the year. F1 causes human rights violations and for that reason it should not come to Bahrain."
That would be exactly consistent with reports from the ground in Bahrain in 2012. Nothing has changed. And nothing will change so long as powerful entities like Formula One and the US Government will blindly sanction such oppression to further their own interests.
As to the race itself, practice was as expected with the Mercedes and Ferraris leading the rest of the pack. Qualifying just concluded, however, and there was a bit of a shakeup at the top. Lewis Hamilton took his fourth pole to open the season, but Vettel took P2 followed by Rosberg and Raikkonen in the second row. No front row lockout for Mercedes as they have become expected to lately. The rest of the top 10 in order are Bottas, Massa, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Sainz and Grosjean.
Will the Ferrari and Williams cars have anything for Hamilton and Rosberg in the actual race? We shall see, but they are getting ever closer.
Also, baseball has started the regular season, and the Tigers and Royals look awesome so far; the Giants not so much. The NBA playoffs are starting and the NFL draft is nearly upon us.
Consider this a full Trash Talk and discuss anything you wish. And don't be a dick like Lewis Hamilton and spray champagne into unsuspecting girl's eardrums.
Barack Obama faces a huge amount of pressure during the current meltdown of Iraq because he withdrew all US military forces from the country. As I have pointed out in countless posts, the single controlling factor for that withdrawal was that Iraq refused to provide criminal immunity to US troops who remained in Iraq past December 31, 2011.
A very similar scenario is playing out now in Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai has refused to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement that will provide criminal immunity to US troops remaining beyond the end of this year. Both Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani have stated that they will sign the BSA immediately upon taking office, but the recount of their runoff election remains mired in dysfunction over how to eliminate fraudulent votes. John Kerry has visited twice to get the candidates to cease sparring, but dysfunction has quickly ensued after both visits. Meanwhile, the clock ticks ever closer to expiration of the current agreement providing immunity.
All along, the US framing for insisting on criminal immunity for troops is based on avoiding the chaos of soldiers facing false charges that might be brought through a court system that lacks the safeguards of the US court system or even the US military courts. But a report (pdf) released Friday by Amnesty International provides solid evidence that the US has failed, on multiple verified occasions, to take any action to pursue those responsible for clear war crimes in Afghanistan. That stands out to me as the real reason the US insists on criminal immunity.
Amnesty sums up their findings in the press release accompanying the report:
Focusing primarily on air strikes and night raids carried out by US forces, including Special Operations Forces, Left in the Dark finds that even apparent war crimes have gone uninvestigated and unpunished.
"Thousands of Afghans have been killed or injured by US forces since the invasion, but the victims and their families have little chance of redress. The US military justice system almost always fails to hold its soldiers accountable for unlawful killings and other abuses," said Richard Bennett, Amnesty International's Asia Pacific Director.
"None of the cases that we looked into – involving more than 140 civilian deaths – were prosecuted by the US military. Evidence of possible war crimes and unlawful killings has seemingly been ignored."
The description continues:
Two of the case studies — involving a Special Operations Forces raid on a house in Paktia province in 2010, and enforced disappearances, torture, and killings in Nerkh and Maidan Shahr districts, Wardak province, in November 2012 to February 2013 — involve abundant and compelling evidence of war crimes. No one has been criminally prosecuted for either of the incidents.
Qandi Agha, a former detainee held by US Special Forces in Nerkh in late 2012, spoke of the daily torture sessions he endured. "Four people beat me with cables. They tied my legs together and beat the soles of my feet with a wooden stick. They punched me in the face and kicked me. They hit my head on the floor." He also said he was dunked in a barrel of water and given electrical shocks.
Agha said that both US and Afghan forces participated in the torture sessions. He also said that four of the eight prisoners held with him were killed while he was in US custody, including one person, Sayed Muhammed, whose killing he witnessed.
Of course, the US claims that while it wants troops immune from prosecution in Afghanistan under trumped up charges, crimes will be investigated by US authorities. The Amnesty report puts that lie to rest. Again, from the press release:
Of the scores of witnesses, victims and family members Amnesty International spoke to when researching this report, only two people said that they had been interviewed by US military investigators. In many of the cases covered in the report, US military or NATO spokespeople would announce that an investigation was being carried out, but would not release any further information about the progress of the investigation or its findings – leaving victims and family members in the dark.
"We urge the US military to immediately investigate all the cases documented in our report, and all other cases where civilians have been killed. The victims and their family members deserve justice," said Richard Bennett.
Yeah, I'm sure the military will get right on that. Sometime in the next century or two.
The report provides three recommendations to the government of Afghanistan:
Create a credible, independent mechanism to monitor, investigate and report publicly on civilian deaths and injuries caused by the ANSF, and to ensure timely and effective remedies. This mechanism should include detailed procedures for recording casualties, receiving claims, conducting investigations, carrying out disciplinary measures including prosecutions where warranted, and ensuring reparation, including restitution, compensation, and rehabilitation.
Ensure that accountability for civilian casualties is guaranteed in any future bilateral security agreements signed with NATO and the United States, including by requiring that international forces provide a regular accounting of any incidents of civilian casualties, the results of investigations into such incidents, and the progress of any related prosecutions. Such agreements should exclude any provision that might infringe upon Afghanistan's obligations under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Continue to press the US and NATO authorities to take meaningful steps to enhance civilian protection, investigate reports of civilian casualties, and prosecute violations of international humanitarian law that result in civilian casualties.
Those recommendations are terrific, but they are completely meaningless when applied to what is really happening in Afghanistan. None of the good things in that list have any chance of even making it into the language of the already negotiated BSA, and even if they did, no enforcement of it would ever be allowed. After all, the US is the country that even has passed a law allowing use of military force to "rescue" any citizen facing charges in the ICC. It doesn't matter whether George W. Bush or Barack Obama is the Commander in Chief, the US military will go wherever it wants, kill whoever it wants, and allow the vast majority of its crimes to go without consequence.
That is the particular freedom they hate us for.
Last fall, a leaked document showed that Bahrain intended to make a huge purchase of tear gas. In response, Bahrain Watch and a number of other human rights groups organized a movement around the Stop the Shipment campaign. The movement gained many human rights, foreign policy and celebrity supporters. Once it became clear that Bahrain was focusing on South Korea as the source for the tear gas, the campaign also focused there, sending hundreds of thousands of emails to South Korean companies and government officials.
Today, that effort has proven successful:
South Korea has ordered companies to suspend tear gas exports to Bahrain amid pressure from human rights groups, officials said Wednesday.
The state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration instructed two companies not to ship tear gas to the Gulf state after they inquired about possible exports, agency officials said.
It turns out that the shipment was going to be even bigger than the leaked document suggested. From Bahrain Watch's press release:
The shipment was believed to comprise in excess of 1.6 million rounds of tear gas based on a leaked tender document from a source close to Bahrain's Ministry of Interior. However, in today's Financial Times article DaeKwang's CEO said that as part of the deal, which was worth USD $28 million, the Bahraini government was planning to buy 3 million tear gas canisters – around 4 canisters for each Bahraini citizen. DAPA's decision to cease exports means that this tear gas will not reach Bahrain.
Wow. Four tear gas canisters for each citizen of the country. The press release continues, giving us the horrific details of violent repression of Bahrain's citizens:
South Korea joins other countries including the United States and United Kingdom, who have already stopped tear gas exports to Bahrain due to human rights concerns. Since 2011, at least 39 deaths in Bahrain have been linked to misuse of tear gas, according to data compiled by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). The deaths include 14 year old Ali Jawad al-Shaikh who was shot in the back of his neck with a tear gas canister, and 15 year old Sayed Hashim Saeed, also shot in his neck with a tear gas canister at close range. No police officer or other government official in Bahrain has been held accountable for these or any other abuses due to the systematic misuse of tear gas, despite serious concerns raised by the United Nations Human Rights Council and the well-documented accounts that described the Bahraini government's use of tear gas as "unnecessary, indiscriminate" and "lethal".
Even though the US no longer exports tear gas to Bahrain, a US export leads many of Bahrain's most repressive actions. John Timoney now heads Bahrain's efforts to "reform" its police tactics. Shortly after he arrived there, Bahrain banned all protests and the death toll continued to mount. [Will Ray Kelly join Timoney soon? It would seem like such a natural fit for him.]
Stopping the tear gas shipment is a major victory for human rights in Bahrain, but Bahrain's government continues its violent repression in many ways beyond tear gas. From Amnesty International's 2013 report on Bahrain, we have this on incarceration of teens: Continue reading
On October 24, 2012, Nabila Rehman, who was eight years old at the time, was helping her grandmother pick vegetables in the family's garden in North Waziristan. Here is her description of what happened next:
[youtuber youtube='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDlvGqQ7VUo']
Remarkably, Pakistan's government has now indirectly called Nabila's grandmother, Mamana Bibi, a terrorist. That is because the government has released new figures, radically revising downward their estimate of civilians killed in US drone strikes in Pakistan. They must be calling Bibi a terrorist, because the figures claim that there were zero civilian casualties in 2012. Amnesty International provides many more details (pdf) on the strike that killed Bibi and on another strike in 2012 that killed eighteen civilian workers.
Here is Declan Walsh writing in the New York Times on the new figures from Pakistan:
In a surprise move, Pakistan's government on Wednesday sharply revised downward its official estimate of civilian casualties caused by American drone strikes in the tribal belt, highlighting again the contentious nature of statistics about the covert C.I.A. campaign.
The Ministry of Defense released figures to lawmakers saying that 67 civilians were among 2,227 people killed in 317 drone strikes since 2008. The remainder of those killed were Islamist militants, the ministry said.
Recently, a United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, Ben Emmerson, said that the Pakistani government had reported at least 400 civilian deaths since the drone campaign started in 2004.
In an email, Mr. Emmerson noted that the revised figures were "strikingly at odds" with those he had been given earlier by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry and said he would be writing to the government seeking clarification.
"It is essential that the government of Pakistan now clarify the true position," he said.
BBC gives us the directly comparable figures from The Bureau for Investigative Journalism:
The latest figures released by Pakistan differ dramatically from previous estimates, but no explanation was given for the apparent discrepancy.
London's Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which researches Pakistan drone strikes, told the BBC it estimated based on reports that between 308 and 789 civilians had died since 1 January 2008 (of between 2,371 and 3,433 total deaths).
Since 2008 then, Pakistan has now revised their civilian death toll estimate down to 67 during a period when TBIJ documents a minimum of 308 civilian deaths and as many as 789. Somehow, Pakistan has reclassified several hundred deaths from civilian to terrorist. And among them is Mamana Bibi, who is now a terrorist okra-picking grandmother. [That one hits me especially hard; I have fond memories of my grousing about how itchy the okra plants were when I picked okra with my grandfather in his garden.]
Tom Hussain and Jonathan Landay at McClatchy sum up the response to this announcement by Pakistan: Continue reading
A group of 10 human rights groups have written President Obama a letter calling for him to fulfill his State of the Union promise of more openness about drone and/or targeted killing.
The letter calls for obvious sorts of transparency (including the public release of all CIA, DOD, and DOJ documents pertaining to drone and/or targeted killing, as well as sharing of information Congress needs to conduct oversight) and warns that several of the interpretations adopted by the US (for example, its overly broad definition of imminence) don't abide by international law.
But I'm most interested in this passage:
Judicial review is a central pillar of checks and balances. It is essential for accountability and transparency. Yet, the administration's position is that judicial review is "not appropriate" in targeted killings cases and it has invoked broad interpretations of the political question and immunity doctrines, Bivens special factors, and the state secrets privilege to obstruct litigation.
We do not believe that accountability and transparency will be improved by recent proposals to establish a FISA-like court to sanction lethal targeting operations. On the contrary, a special targeted killing court would give a veneer of judicial review to decisions to launch lethal strikes without offering a meaningful check on executive power. Instead, we urge the administration to cease making broad claims of non-justiciability or political question, to prevent cases alleging human rights or constitutional violations from being heard on their merits. [my emphasis; footnotes removed]
That all 10 groups — including ACLU, Amnesty International, Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, and Open Society Foundations, as well as some smaller institutions — would agree on this point makes a powerful statement. It denies the Administration of whatever sanction it hoped a drone and/or targeted killing court might give to their extrajudicial killing program.
The Administration is still more likely to be influenced by increased reporting on the lies they've been telling about the program than even these human rights groups. But it is important to see this unified statement undercutting the Administration's (and Dianne Feinstein's) efforts to make this program look better by burying it in a secret court.
While the US enters its eleventh year of maintaining the Guantanamo Prison that Barack Obama pledged to close by the end of 2009, Pakistan now finds itself in the glare of international condemnation for its own practice of indefinite detention without charges. Just last month, Amnesty International released a report (pdf) in which they pointed out widespread torture and abuse in Pakistan's tribal areas while prisoners are held by the military and intelligence agency without charges:
Amnesty International research shows that, rather than seeking to apply and strengthen the human rights safeguards of Pakistan's ordinary criminal justice system in the Tribal Areas, the Pakistani authorities are applying old and new security laws that authorise prolonged, arbitrary, preventive detention by the Armed Forces, and breach international human rights law. The Actions (in Aid of Civil Power) Regulations 2011 (AACPR) in particular, along with the century-old Frontier Crimes Regulation 1901 (FCR),5 provide a framework for widespread human rights violations to occur with impunity.
Both the AACPR and FCR come into play in a case argued today in Pakistan's Supreme Court. From Reuters, we learn that although this case addresses just 11 men (now 7 due to four deaths, more on that later), the government now admits that over 700 are being held without charges:
Pakistan is holding 700 suspected Islamist militants without charge under a law that has come under fire from human rights groups, its attorney general said on Thursday.
The admission marked the first time that the strategic U.S. ally detailed how many militants it is holding in the tribal areas of the northwest under the Actions in Aid of Civil Power Regulations law.
"There is a military operation in Waziristan. Under the law we cannot try these 700 people, nor can we release them, unless the operation is over," Attorney General Irfan Qadir told the Supreme Court, referring to a tribal area near the Afghan border.
The Reuters report, however, seems to miss the mark on several important issues in this story. First, Reuters says the case is about "seven suspected militants held without charge since May 2010". Both Dawn and the Express Tribune point out in their stories today that the case originated with 11 men. Here is how Dawn describes that part of the background:
The 11 prisoners in the said case went missing from the gate of Rawalpindi's Adiyala Jail on May 29, 2010 after they had been acquitted of terrorism charges pertaining to their alleged involvement in the October 2009 attacks on the Army General Headquarters and the Inter-Services Intelligence's (ISI) Hamza Camp in the garrison town.
Later, four of the 11 died in mysterious circumstances. The Supreme Court forced the ISI and military intelligence to produce the remaining seven men in court on February 13 — an unprecedented move. The men, all in deteriorating health, were sent to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar on court orders. After five of them recovered, they were shifted to an internment centre in Parachinar.
The other point that Reuters seems to miss comes when Reuters says of the men that the "Supreme Court is calling for their release" while it appears on closer reading of the Pakistani press that the "release" is from military detention into the hands of civilian authorities who would then try the men. Here is the Express Tribune: Continue reading
On Tuesday, Bahrain banned all public protests in its continued effort to clamp down on a protest movement that began in February of last year. The State Department issued a weak condemnation of this move on Wednesday, although it is not clear just how the condemnation was delivered to Bahraini authorities. Remarkably, Retired Vice Admiral Douglas Katz, who is a previous commander of the Navy's Fifth Fleet (which is based in Bahrain) penned an Op-Ed in The Hill on Monday, in which he made a miserable attempt to put a positive spin on US support for the repressive regime in Bahrain. In a rare moment of honesty, Katz did at least admit that the US must put up with Bahrain in order to assure the continued flow of oil from the Middle East.
The New York Times brought us word of the crackdown on protests:
Citing recent episodes of violence, the government of Bahrain on Tuesday banned all public rallies and demonstrations, a move that drew swift condemnation from human rights groups and opposition activists who said it was intended solely to stifle criticism of the ruling monarchy in the tiny Persian Gulf nation.
The Times article provides some context for the current development:
Since the beginning of the Arab uprisings almost two years ago, Bahrain's government has struggled to contain the protests, which are focused on the ruling Sunni monarchy's chokehold on political power and fed by persistent complaints by the island nation's majority Shiite population of systematic, apartheidlike discrimination.
Backed by powerful allies, including Saudi Arabia and the United States, Bahrain's government, its critics charge, has faced little pressure to change. The Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy is anchored in Bahrain.
The first few months of the protests saw an incredibly harsh response from Bahraini forces. The State Department's May 24, 2012 Human Rights Report on Bahrain contains a summary of the information from the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), which was commissioned in June of 2011 and issued its report the following November:
There were a number of reports that government security forces committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. The BICI report attributed 19 civilian deaths in the spring to security forces; of these it attributed 14 to the Ministry of Interior (MOI), three to the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF), one to the Bahrain National Security Agency (BNSA), and one to an unnamed security agency. Thirteen of these deaths were due to the use of firearms, five to torture in custody, and one to physical injuries as the result of beating. Of the 14 deaths attributable to the MOI, the BICI concluded that nine resulted from excessive use of force and three from mistreatment in custody; there was not enough evidence to determine cause of death in the other two cases. Of the five persons whose deaths resulted from torture, three died in MOI custody, one four days after being released from MOI custody, and one at the BDF Hospital after being transferred from BNSA custody (see section 1.c., Prison and Detention Center Conditions). The BICI report also discussed 11 deaths that took place beyond the February-March period covered by its report, for which it did not assign responsibility. It noted, however, that the deaths may have been the result of incidents related to protest activity or excessive use of force by security forces (see also section 2.b., Freedom of Assembly). Local human rights organizations maintained that six additional deaths were linked indirectly to clashes between protesters and security forces, particularly due to exposure to tear gas.
Among the moves to "reform" Bahrain's security apparatus after the initial violent repression of the protests, Bahrain brought in former New York, Philadelphia and Miami Police Chief John Timoney. The Guardian covered the announcement: Continue reading
As I noted yesterday, the Administration appealed the 2nd Circuit Decision granting review of the FISA Amendments Act to the Supreme Court last week. I wanted to talk about their argument in more detail here.
Over at Lawfare, Steve Vladeck noted that this case would likely decide whether and what the "foreign intelligence surveillance" exception to the Fourth Amendment, akin to "special needs" exceptions like border searches and drug testing.
Third, if the Court affirms (or denies certiorari), this case could very well finally settle the question whether the Fourth Amendment's Warrant Clause includes a "foreign intelligence surveillance exception," as the FISA Court of Review held in the In re Directives decision in 2008. That's because on the merits, 50 U.S.C. § 1881a(b)(5) mandates that the authorized surveillance "shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the fourth amendment to the Constitution of the United States." Thus, although it is hard to see how surveillance under § 1881a could violate the Fourth Amendment, explication of the (as yet unclear) Fourth Amendment principles that govern in such cases would necessarily circumscribe the government's authority under this provision going forward (especially if In re Directives is not followed…).
I would go further and say that this case will determine whether there is what I'll call a database-and-mining exception allowing the government to collect domestic data to which no reasonable suspicion attaches, store it, data mine it, and based on the results of that data mining use the data itself to establish cause for further surveillance. Thus, it will have an impact not just for this warrantless wiretapping application, but also for things like Secret PATRIOT, in which the government is collecting US person geolocation data in an effort to be able to pinpoint the locations of alleged terrorists, not to mention the more general databases collecting things like who buys hydrogen peroxide.
I make a distinction between foreign intelligence surveillance and "database-and-mining" exceptions because the government is, in fact, conducting domestic surveillance under these programs and using it to collect intelligence on US persons (indeed, when asked about Secret PATRIOT earlier this month, James Clapper invoked "foreign or domestic" intelligence in the context of Secret PATRIOT). The government has managed to hide that fact thus far by blatantly misleading the FISA Court of Review in In re Directives and doing so (to a lesser degree) here.
In In re Directives, the government misled the court in two ways. First, according to Russ Feingold, the government didn't reveal (and the company challenging the order didn't have access to) information about how the targeting is used. The amendments he tried to pass–and which Mike McConnell and Michael Mukasey issued veto threats in response to–suggest some of the problems Feingold foresaw and the intelligence community refused to fix: reverse targeting, inclusion of US person data in larger data mining samples, and the retention and use of improperly collected information.
The government even more blatantly misled the FISCR with regards to what it did with US person data.
The petitioner's concern with incidental collections is overblown. It is settled beyond peradventure that incidental collections occurring as a result of constitutionally permissible acquisitions to not render those acquisitions unlawful.9 [citations omitted] The government assures us that it does not maintain a database of incidentally collected information from non-targeted United States persons, and there is no evidence to the contrary. On these facts, incidentally collected communications of non-targeted United States persons do not violate the Fourth Amendment.
9 The petitioner has not charged that the Executive Branch is surveilling overseas persons in order intentionally to surveil persons in the United States. Because the issue is not before us, we do not pass on the legitimacy vel non of such a practice.
The notion that the government doesn't have this US person data in a database is farcical at this point, as the graphic above showing the relative size of the NSA's data center in UT–which I snipped from this larger ACLU graphic–makes clear (though the government's unwillingness to be legally bound to segregate US person data made that clear, as well). Continue reading
On Friday, the government appealed the 2nd Circuit's decision that Amnesty International and other NGOs and individuals have standing to challenge the FISA Amendments Act. I'll have a post on the implications of their substantive argument shortly. But in the meantime, I wanted to note what they're not even addressing.
The image to the left is a fragment of the government's references to statutes and regulation mentioned in its brief; it's the part of the list referring to the part of the FAA in question. As you can see, it almost–but not quite–lists every clause of the law.
One clause notably missing from the almost-sequential list above is 1881a(b)(4), which reads,
[An acquisition authorized under subsection (a)] may not intentionally acquire any communication as to which the sender and all intended recipients are known at the time of the acquisition to be located in the United States;
And while it mentions clauses that refer back to this restriction (for example, 1881a(c)(1), 1881a(d), 1881a(g)(2)(A)(i), etc), it never goes back and includes this language–the requirement that the government not intentionally acquire communications that are located entirely within the US–in its argument. (There are other clauses the brief ignores, a number of which pertain to oversight of the certifications the government has made; I may return to these at a future time.)
Or, to put it another way, the government never admits that the FAA permits the purportedly unintentional collection of entirely domestic communication.
And yet that is a part of this lawsuit. The original complaint in this suit invoked this clause:
An acquisition under section 702(a) may not … "intentionally acquire any communication as to which the sender and all intended recipients are known at the time of the acquisition to be located in the United States
Moreover, the Attorney General and the DNI may acquire purely domestic communications as long as there is uncertainly about the location of one party to the communications.
And the 2nd Circuit opinion (authored by Gerard Lynch) referenced this clause:
"Targeting procedures" are procedures designed to ensure that an authorized acquisition is "limited to targeting persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States," and is designed to "prevent the intentional acquisition of any communication as to which the sender and all intended recipients are known at the time of the acquisition to be located in the United States."
In addition, the certification must attest that the surveillance complies with statutory limitations providing that it:
(4) may not intentionally acquire any communication as to which the sender and all intended recipients are known at the time of the acquisition to be located in the United States;
Under the FAA, in contrast to the preexisting FISA scheme, the FISC may not monitor compliance with the targeting and minimization procedures on an ongoing basis. Instead, that duty falls to the AG and DNI, who must submit their assessments to the FISC, as well as the congressional intelligence committees and the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.
But the government has not asserted, and the statute does not clearly state, that the FISC may rely on these assessments to revoke earlier surveillance authorizations.
Now, to some degree, the government might argue it ignored the clause prohibiting intentional–but not accidental–targeting of domestic communications because the plaintiffs' primary basis for establishing standing is their frequent communication with likely targets overseas. As I'll show, the government wants to make this case about a particular definition of a target, and key to that argument is a claim that it is impossible for the plaintiffs to be targets.
Yet therein lies one of the key problems with their argument, given that 1881a(b)(4) only prohibits the plaintiffs from being intentional targets; the FAA very pointedly did not prohibit the government from keeping US person information it "unintentionally" collected. In fact, Mike McConnell and Michael Mukasey started issuing veto threats when Russ Feingold tried to restrict the ongoing use of domestic communications identified as such after the fact.
Finally, in the one case that approved this kind of collection (though under the Protect America Act, not the FAA) used targeting procedures to substitute for particularity required under the Fourth Amendment. Under PAA, those procedures were not mapped out by law; under FAA they are, partly in the clause the government wants to ignore.
And yet, remarkably, the government doesn't want that clause to be part of its discussion with SCOTUS. Seeing as how even the FISA Court of Review finds that substitute for particularity–the targeting procedures–to be a key part of compliance with the Fourth Amendment, you'd think that would be relevant.


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Sharon Bialek, a Chicago-area woman,waits to address a news conference at the Friars Club, Monday, Nov. 7, 2011, in New York. Bialek accused Republican presidential contender Herman Cain of making an unwanted sexual advance against her in 1997. She says she wants to provide "a face and a voice" to support other accusers who have so far remained anonymous. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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Washington Collection Agencies Law
The Washington Collection Agencies Law requires that debt collectors be licensed and bonded and prohibits certain types of activities.
The Washington collection agency law regulates debt collectors in the state of Washington and provides some protection if a debt collector is trying to collect from you. It requires debt collectors to be licensed and bonded, prohibits unfair and deceptive actions, regulates how a collector can communicate with you, and more. It is similar to the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. However, if a debt collector violates the Washington act, you can use in state court.
The Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law regulating debt collectors' activities in all states. Among other things, the FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from using deceptive or abusive practices, governs the time and manner in which debt collectors contact you, and requires that debt collectors honor your requests not to contact you at certain places or times.
The FDCPA does not apply to every person or company attempting to collect a debt, however. For example, it does not apply when a creditor attempts to collect a debt on its own behalf.
(To learn more about the protections the FDCPA offers, visit our Illegal Debt Collection Practices topic area.)
The Washington Collection Agencies Law
In addition to the FDCPA, the Washington State collection agency law also regulates debt collectors' activities when they attempt to collect debts from Washington residents.
Debt Collectors Must Be Licensed in Washington
Washington's collection agency law requires debt collectors to obtain a license from the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) and post a bond before attempting to collect a debt. They must renew their licenses yearly. Out-of-state debt collectors must also obtain a license before attempting to collect from Washington residents.
You can check to see whether a debt collector is licensed at www.dol.wa.gov. If the DOL suspects that a debt collector is unlicensed it may investigate. It routinely fines unlicensed debt collectors.
Who Is a Debt Collector Under Washington Law?
The definition of a debt collector under the Washington collection agency law is similar to the FDCPA's definition. Those who are in the business of collecting debts on others' behalf are covered, but original creditors are not. The following do not need to be licensed.
Original creditors. Original creditors and other creditors who do not regularly collect debts are not required to be licensed in Washington. For example, a small business does not need to comply with the Washington collection agency law when the its owner contacts you regarding a debt (assuming it is not in the debt collection business, of course). Similarly, financial institutions, realtors, and your landlord do not need to be licensed.
(To learn more about the difference between debt collectors and original creditors, review What Is the Difference Between a Debt Collector and a Creditor.)
Billing services. Billing services that simply send statements or manage payments do not need to be licensed. One notable example is a company hired by a homeowners' association to send you statements, assess late fees, and take payments. Other property management companies are exempt as well.
Law firms, with some exceptions. Lawyers and law firms do not need to be licensed as long as they are not in the regular business of collecting debts. Some law firms specialize in debt collection, however, so they do need to obtain a debt collector license.
Prohibited Collection Activities Under Washington Law
Licensed debt collectors must comply with the regulations contained in the Washington collection agency law. As you read this section, keep in mind that debt collectors must comply with both Washington's regulations and the FDCPA's regulations, but this section is limited to Washington law.
Debt collectors:
Must provide specific information upon first contact. The first time a debt collector sends you a letter, notice, form, or anything else, its must include the following:
- the debt collector's business address and licensee name
- the name of the original creditor (if the debt collector knows who it is) as well as your original account number (which can be redacted)
- when you last made a payment to the original creditor, and
- a statement including the original amount of the debt and a schedule of additional charges (such as late fees, interest, and attorneys' fees) that were added.
Cannot communicate with anyone else or threaten to do so. A debt collector can only communicate with you (or your attorney) or others liable on the debt. It cannot communicate with other third parties. However, it can report your debt to a credit reporting agency. It can also contact your employer or others who may know how to contact you if the debt collector hasn't been able find you.
Cannot threaten or harass you. A debt collector cannot harass, intimidate, threaten, or embarrass you. This includes contacting you too often or at unusual times. Washington law assumes a debt collector is harassing you if it calls three times in a week or more than once a week at your workplace. It is also harassing if it contacts you between 7:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. (keep in mind that the FDCPA regulates calls before 8:00 a.m.).
A debt collector cannot make a threat to sue you or take any other legal action against you unless it is actually allowed to do so at the time it makes the threat. For example, a debt collector cannot threaten to immediately garnish your wages unless it has already sued you and obtained a judgment against you.
Mislead you into thinking it works for the police or other government agency. A debt collector cannot make any statement suggesting it is connected with the police or any other governmental agency. The Washington collection law prohibits debt collectors from wearing any kind of badge or wearing uniforms resembling police officer uniforms.
Cannot cause you to incur unnecessary cell phone charges. A debt collector cannot call or send text messages more than twice a day if it knows it is contacting you on a cell phone. It has to update its records monthly to determine whether the numbers it is calling are cell or landline numbers.
Similarly, a debt collector cannot intentionally block its own telephone number when it contacts you.
Debt Validation and Verification
If you ask a debt collector, in writing, to provide the name of the original creditor, your account number with that original creditor, or the date of your last payment, the collector must stop collection efforts until it provides you with this information. (The FDCPA has a similar provision; it is often referred to as debt validation or debt verification.) This can be crucial if you don't know who the original creditor is or you want clarification on the amount owed.
You can also request that the debt collector provide you with a statement of the additional fees added to the debt, if it hasn't already provided this to you. It must make a reasonable effort to obtain and provide the information to you.
If you dispute the amount of the debt and the debt collector has already reported the debt to a credit reporting agency, it must request that the credit reporting agency mark the debt as disputed. Once you dispute the amount of the debt, the debt collector can no longer contact your employer or and third party until the debt has been verified.
Other Prohibited Actions
Debt collectors cannot:
- publish a bad debts list with your name on it
- threaten to sell your debt to someone else just to coerce you to pay
- threaten to report you to a credit reporting agency unless it actually intends to do so
- contact you if you notified it to communicate only with your attorney (unless the attorney will not return their calls)
- use any name other than its licensed name
- give you papers that look like they are court documents if they aren't
- pretend like it is trying to contact you because of an emergency
- say it will add fees to the debt unless the contract allows it to do so, or
- require you to pay for your communication with them (such as a toll call, except a collector can call you on your cell phone).
What You Can Do If a Debt Collector Violates Washington Law
If you believe a debt collector has violated Washington collection agency law, you should start by contacting the Department of Licensing by filling out a Business Resource Complaint at www.dol.wa.gov.
You can also file a complaint with the Washington Attorney General (AG) at www.atg.wa.gov. Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that the AG's office will be able to investigate the complaint since it receives over 2,000 complaints per month.
If the collector has violated the federal FDCPA, you can file an online complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at FTC Complaint Assistant.
You can sue the debt collector in court. If a court agrees that the debt collector violated the Washington collection agency law, then it may award you damages as well as reasonable attorneys' fees.
Getting More Information
You can find the full text of the Washington collection agency law in the Revised Code of Washington under Chapter 19.16. (To learn how to find state statutes, visit Nolo's Legal Research Center.)
Talk to a Lawyer
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How It Works
- Briefly tell us about your case
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3 offers all-you-can-eat data on PAYG
3 brings uncapped data to pay-as-you-go customers as it seeks to make a big impact on the mobile market.
Mobile operator 3 has announced unlimited data deals for pay-as-you-go (PAYG) customers.
There has been plenty of debate around unlimited deals, particularly after a number of providers decided to stop offering such contracts.
Towards the end of 2010, 3 updated its One Plan to include uncapped data, even though the operator had scrapped unlimited data when it introduced the original deal earlier in the year.
Despite operators ending unlimited data deals, most users do not go over their allowances.
Now 3 has brought unlimited data to PAYG customers, claiming its announcement will shake the mobile industry.
"We want to get people using their smartphones in the way they were designed to be used, and that means data," said sales and marketing director Marc Allera.
"More importantly, we want people to feel comfortable doing this without worrying about the cost."
New customers will be able to access all-you-can-eat data by signing up to one of 3's new PAYG All in One 15 or 25 Add-ons, whilst those who joined 3 before September 2010 will have to migrate to the current tariff.
To support the marketing of the unlimited data plans, 3 will run a competition every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with various prizes on offer.


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Date: 1955 ca.
Description: Lighted, choreographed water fountain show.
Date: 1925
Description: The brick, Italianate style Fox House hotel in Columbus. There are brackets under the overhang and a large belvidere. A sign on the building advertises Coc...
Date: date unknown
Description: Four female water skiers posed in profile in white bathing suits on a pier or floating raft. Three stand on a ladder so they appear in a vertical column. O...
Date: 1939
Description: Memorial Chapel, dedicated on May 28, 1939.
Date: 1951-09-14
Description: Sign burning for the Dells Pioneer Village, with Jerry and Mary Claire.
Description: The First Presbyterian Church, dedicated October 15, 1893.
Date: 1970-04
Description: Wilderness Road seen from the foot of the stage during their performance at Sound Storm. The guitarist at left is Nate Herman, the drummer is Tom Haban, th...
Date: 1878
Description: Kilbourn Bridge at the Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.
Description: Kilbourn railroad station looking north. A crowd of people stand on the platform. Carriages parked behind the station building.
Date: 1970-04-25 ca.
Description: A crowd of people in a circle are dancing at the foot of the stage at the Sound Storm music festival. Other audience members are standing around them watc...
Description: Rear view of flagman standing at the narrows in the Wisconsin River as a steamboat approaches.
Description: View of Memorial Chapel, dedicated on May 8, 1939.
Description: View from road of the entry drive with stone walls on each side, leading to the Riverdale Resort. The main building is on the right across the lawn.
Description: Elevated view of The Bowery Boys performing onstage at the Sound Storm music festival. Band members are Ken Heim on organ, Richard Wiegel on guitar, Jeff A...
Date: 1900 ca.
Description: Covered bridge over river.
Description: Warren Leming of the band Wilderness Road playing guitar during the band's performance at Sound Storm. A black flag and a U.S. flag fly behind him.
Date: 1927
Description: Two Native American children, a girl and a boy, standing in front of a small teepee with a blanket draped over part of it.
Date: 1870 ca.
Description: Stereograph of Kilbourn Bridge.
Date: 1950 ca.
Description: Two little girls kneel before an altar holding statues and a creche.
Description: Exterior view of a small cottage at the Grandview Hotel. Flowers are in a window box and an automobile is parked in back.
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The College of Public Health will hire a tenure-track faculty member with expertise in statistical genomics/proteomics and the analysis of high throughput genomic data. The appointment will be as an assistant or associate professor. Requirements will be a PhD in statistics or biostatistics, or equivalent, and appropriate preparation to develop an independent research agenda in this area. Senior faculty will provide academic mentoring and facilitate contacts for development of collaborations with one or more group of biomedical researchers on campus. The individual will teach courses for students across the university on how to use and interpret results from such analyses. The faculty member will contribute to the graduate program in biostatistics, providing badly needed additional expertise in this area, as well as graduate programs in related areas. Scientific mentoring will be provided by Dr. Jian Huang (joint appointment in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science and the Department of Biostatistics) and also Dr. Yi Xing (primary appointment in Department of Internal Medicine and secondary appointment in Departments of Biostatistics and Biomedical Engineering) both of whom have expertise in the statistical analysis of high throughput genomic data and the design of experiments to collect such genomic data.


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Sturgeon dismisses Eagle's claim Scotland is comparable to Liverpool
The Scottish First Minister insists she has a "a mandate to seek to protect that relationship we have with the EU"
The Scottish First Minister insists she has a "a mandate to seek to protect that relationship we have with the EU"
The Prime Minister was obliged to listen, and appeared oblivious to the criticism as he clapped at the end of the '70s rock band's performance
'We will come to a decision as a party,' the Labour leader tells The Andrew Marr Show
The presenter said that it would be dangerous if the broadcaster became dependent on revenue directly from the government
Did Cameron know of Lord Ashcroft's non-dom status in 2009? Andrew Marr couldn't get an answer
Twitter awash with praise for Labour leader's honesty on Andrew Marr Show
Ed Balls could consider increasing the top rate of tax to 55p or even 60p if he became Chancellor, former Trade minister Digby Jones claimed today.
Damning review will accuse Corporation of turning a blind eye to shamed entertainer's actions
Inside Television: In a screen culture where nudity is always understood as sexual, regular nudity of non-'perfect' bodies is still revolutionary
Live theatre and series on writers and painters are waiting in the wings – with some familiar old faces
David Cameron has branded the Labour Party's tax policy "nuts", warning that it would drive business out of Britain and hamper the economic recovery.
Ed Miliband also pledges to 'crack down' on companies that fail to pay the minimum wage.
The broadcaster Andrew Marr has described Angela Merkel as the "perfect leader" and claimed that British voters would never elect a female Prime Minister whose public image was considered similarly boring.
The former Labour minister said the party could be on the verge of a "great prize" if the next government is not a coalition
The Chancellor has rebuffed advances from his namesake after President Obama's G8 mix-up
Crime writers Ian Rankin and Val McDermid will pay tribute to the late Iain Banks at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The Foreign Secretary will appear before the House of Commons tomorrow to try to allay concerns about the Prism spy scheme which enables the USA's spy agency to mine data from Facebook and other web companies


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Definition of photobiology in English:
The study of the effects of light on living organisms.
Example sentences
- The search for new compounds with potential photosensitization activity for biological systems is relevant to the science of photobiology.
- Mice, because of their size, cost and ease of handling, are used regularly for experiments in photobiology and immunology.
- These data demonstrate the usefulness of these assays for environmental photobiology and the potential for their use in studying the relative impacts of UVB versus UVA, including ozone depletion events.
For editors and proofreaders
Syllabification: pho·to·bi·ol·o·gy
Definition of photobiology in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.
= trending


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As many know Monday night was caucus night in Iowa and I couldn't be more excited. Not because I'm into politics, the exact opposite actually. I rather detest the state of politics today, usually because traditionally campaigns focus on why other candidates are awful rather than point out the good of their own candidate. All that is accomplished by this tactic is that everyone looks like a terrible prospect for (in this case) president and voters are reduced to trying to find the candidate that they find least offensive. Sounds fun, right? This has been my experience in life up to now.
Ignoring the Republican side for this post (you lot matter, but don't have much to do with what I'm addressing today) I was delighted to see that there was minimal slashing between Clinton, O'Malley and Sanders. Or at least I wasn't exposed to much, I don't have live TV any more so I didn't see many commercials, but seeing as how I'd do media blackout in the past and was still subjected to awfulness I think it was down in percentage, not gone, I'm sure, but less. Candidates tried to focus more on why they were the best or were pointing out the flaws in the system in general.
Focusing back to Monday. 24 hours before I was certain I would not be caucusing. As stated, I don't love politics, I don't like conflict and I felt like I had other things to do that I would enjoy 1000 times more than assembling with my fellow democrats (I can say that now, because I had to finally register to caucus). However, on Monday during my free time I decided to get informed. I read up on the candidates (mainly Clinton and Sanders since they were the front runners) and then on how caucusing worked. I was delighted to learn that I was wrong (how often do people say that). Before that day I thought each precinct had to support just one candidate but no no dear readers, you just need a high enough percentage (15%). I also started thinking about civic duty. We expect a lot from our government, and if I'm going to make demands of it, then I need to do my part too. In this case, being an Iowan, I am called to caucus. So now informed on the candidates (if you look into it, and whittle the answers to their essence (like this site does) you'll find that Clinton and Sanders have pretty similar views, they are just playing the political game differently) and armed with clarification on how the process worked I made my mind up to go to the assembly.
We arrived about 45 minutes early (that Quarnstrom gene will not be kicked) and I was the 31st person to register. Over the hour that number swelled to 320 (I believe). As I looked around I saw lots of Bernie shirts, Hilary stickers and signs for both. I was glad I had picked between the two of them, there were enough of each to meet the threshold of 15%. Why does that matter? How a democratic caucus works (because yes, our friends on the right run things differently) is that you find out what the threshold for a viable candidate is (for our turnout you needed 47 supporters for any one candidate to be able to get a delegate) and then divide into support groups. For our precinct there were four sections: Clinton, O'Malley, Sanders and undecided. After you divide, you count off to see if you meet the required number. Both the Clinton and Sanders groups qualified but the O'Malley and undecided did not so they needed to pick one of the other candidates. People from both sides went to talk to the dozen-ish people that were left to get them to join them. The people who needed to switch had thirty minutes to decide and then after a few counts Clinton left with four delegates and Sanders left with three.
This neck-and-neck rate was how it ended up for the state, with Clinton earning just .03% more of the vote than Sanders. More is more and for the first time ever (I think) a woman has won the caucus and it seems like everyone is ignoring the fact, instead focusing on faulty coin flips and what not. So, let it be known, I noticed, and I am not alone. A woman "winning" a caucus is a huge achievement (and just 96 years after ratifying the 19th amendment). Another note that should be made is that combined the two had the approval of over 99% of the party. Perhaps a Clinton-Sanders ticket is in our future? I know, not likely, but it'd be nice if they could reunite our party after all the division that has occurred supporting the two. Pipe dreams, maybe, but I'll hold on to them for now.


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Just a terrible plugin and tricky methods to get you to sign up. They offer facebook registration and email, but the email captcha is broke so you have to use facebook and you have to give permission to access your account and all your friends account.
Then.. you are logged in and they let you make your bar. You do so and only after all the options and designing are you brought to a page where you're informed that a watermark is mandatory or pay a ridiculously high fee per month. Seriously?
Then.. you take the crap watermark code, put it on your site and the plugin doesn't even work. Just terrible all the way around. A waste of 40 minutes. Don't bother.
I am already using NotifySnack on my website and it's great. It has an updated desing and it is a powerful tool. So if you have a website just try it and you will see.
great notification tool, easy to use, a wide variety of themes, does the job well!
You should mention on the description that this service is not for free at all....
This plugin is great! NotifySnack is easy to use and the results are fantastic. I love the themes! Keep up the good work!
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Tiniest Cars are No Longer the Cheapest
Architect Scott Kula used to ride a Vespa scooter to catch a train from Montclair, N.J. to his office in Manhattan. Now, he drives a Fiat 500 for the first leg of his commute.
"It's my Vespa with four wheels," says Mr. Kula, 49, who works designing stores for Coach International, the luxury goods company.
The Fiat 500, at just under 2,400 pounds and just under 140 inches long, is one of a new crop of pint-size cars starting to find a home among the pickup trucks and crossovers that still dominate American roads.
Under pressure to boost the average fuel economy of their fleets to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, big auto makers are taking another run at enticing U.S. consumers to live small—or, as Mr. Kula did, to get a tiny car for commuting while keeping a larger vehicle for weekends.
Read more in Eyes on the Road.


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- Report: #768388
Report - Rebuttal - Arbitrate
Complaint Review: Homeland Housewares
Homeland HousewaresInternet United States of America
Homeland Housewares Magic Bullet Poor Construction Internet, Internet
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Last week a little piece crumbled to dust. It's a simple plastic piece that you slide on a nut, and is were you connect the container of food to the motor. Without that piece, the unit is inoperable.
I called their customer service department today to order a new plastic piece. I was ACTALLY told that, "Yes, we know those go bad. We don't sell just those pieces....we want you to buy a new motor instead". Seriously?!?!?!
There are new knock-off's out there. Do some research and check on ordering replacement parts - before you make your actual purchase.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 08/22/2011 03:15 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Homeland-Housewares/internet/Homeland-Housewares-Magic-Bullet-Poor-Construction-Internet-Internet-768388. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
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Halfway through his second season in Hattiesburg, Southern Miss basketball coach Donnie Tyndall has reached 40 wins faster than any coach in the program's history.
The University has taken notice.
The Sun Herald's Patrick Magee reports the school and coach Tyndall have agreed to a four-year contract worth $500,000 annually, running through the 2017-'18 season.
The 13-2 Golden Eagles received 15 votes in the latest coaches poll, putting them on the brink of the top 25 for the first time in 23 years.


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Without a doubt, Henry Thornton created a railroad as modern as any. However, his career came to a sad end in 1932.
Nearly two years after pressing the federal government and Canada's railroad operators to beef up their safety regulations, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said Monday that his demands have been met. For the past year, the city's first responders have used a mobile application that allows them to identify what dangerous goods are being shipped through the […]
CN fell the most in seven years after the country's largest railroad cut its full-year profit forecast amid a slowdown in coal shipments and other commodities cargo.
Energy companies may face a tougher ride.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. bondholders are signaling they're prepared to finance the company's coast-to-coast expansion plans. Although Canadian Pacific's initial approach for CSX was rebuffed, bondholders rejected the idea that an acquisitive strategy by Chief Executive Officer Hunter Harrison will hurt them.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said thicker shells on rail cars transporting oil would have reduced the amount of damage in the Lac-Mégantic derailment.
Wants transport canada to look into rules governing the railway industry.
With Quebec's cheap hydro power, why isn't the new Train de l'Est powered by electricity?
The inaugural Just for Kids Foundation G!EE 9-5 Edition, presented by television and radio host Isabelle Racicot and radio host Tony Stark, raised $351,000 for the cardiology department of the Montreal Children's Hospital as part of the foundation's Take Heart Campaign.
WITH VIDEO: Christine Décarie has turned $100,000 to more than $500,000 in 16 years.
Wisconsin railway, once run by same CEO, had an accident rate in 1996 that was 72% higher than similar railroads.
Buying land, building track come with prohibitive costs, so efforts should be focused on improving safety, experts say.
WITH VIDEO: Farnham native Tom Harding under police investigation, suspended without pay.
People living along the soon-to-be-defunct Montreal Maine & Atlantic railway are breathing a sigh of relief with the knowledge that the company's days are numbered, at least on the Canadian side.
There's no way of knowing exactly what's moving across Montreal's network of train tracks at a given moment.
The composition and origin of the oil in the Lac-Mégantic explosion may have made it more volatile, but experts say it doesn't seem likely fracking chemicals used in its production are to blame.
Canadian National Railway Co. says it expects the volume of crude oil it transports to continue growing, even in light of a recent disaster in Lac-Megantic, Que., that has thrust rail safety into the spotlight.
Place Ville Marie celebrates its 50th birthday Thursday, and it still looks and feels as it always has — fresh and exciting. Few buildings in the world have achieved and maintained such iconic status.
Norm Saibil is a veteran banking and financing lawyer and managing partner of the Montreal office of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. Saibil was recruited to lead the charge when Blakes, a law firm with roots in Toronto and long-time offices in Calgary and Vancouver, decided to open an office in Montreal in 2001.


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Classic Italy by Rail
A world of historic art, ancient history, and spectacular landscapes awaits you on this tour of five Italian cities.
Tour Description
A world of historic art, ancient history, and spectacular landscapes awaits you on this tour of five Italian cities. Cruise the grand canals, meander the cobblestoned plazas, and ride the high-speed trains criss-crossing Italy from one amazing sight to the next.
Highlights and Inclusions
- Hotel accommodations for 9 nights
- 11 meals
- Sightseeing including walking tours of Venice and Florence with local guides and city tour of Rome
- Train travel between Venice and Florence and Florence and Rome
- Services of a professional tour manager
Day 1 - International Flight to Venice
Embark on your transatlantic flight to Venice from your U.S. gateway. (International flight not included in tour price)
Day 2 - Venice
Upon arrival in Venice, you'll be met by your tour representative who will escort you to the canal boat for your transfer to the hotel. The remainder of the afternoon is at leisure. (D)
Day 3 - Fairytale Venice, The City of Canals
Venice is the "Jewel of the Mediterranean", a glorious cityscape with a wondrous artistic and musical heritage. The city itself boasts a marvel of engineering feats, built on 118 small islands crossed by its world-famous canals. But this engineering comes with a touch of fairy dust. Who can think of romance without imagining a pair of lovers floating beneath graceful bridges in a Venetian gondola? During the included walking tour, your local guide will help you discover the exotic sights that surround you as you navigate the picturesque alleyways and cross bridges over the quaint canals filled with gondolas. See the soaring domes of St. Mark's Basilica, the Doges Palace and Bridge of Sighs among other sites of this remarkable city built on water. During the afternoon at leisure, sip coffee in a small café, shop in the boutiques and watch artists at work, recreating these lovely scenes. (B)
Day 4 - Florence, Cradle of the Renaissance
This morning you depart Venice and take a high-speed train to Florence. What a great way to travel as you watch picturesque hill towns, lush vineyards and beautiful wineries pass by. Upon arrival, walk in the footsteps of great rulers, artists and philosophers as you explore Florence, the breathtaking capital of the Italian Renaissance, on the included walking tour. The city is steeped in the achievements of great minds who found inspiration here. A visit to the famous Academia Gallery is included where you'll get an up-close view of Michelangelo's masterpiece, 'David' . Undoubtedly the world's most famous sculpture, the museum also houses five other Michelangelo sculptures — the four unfinished Prisoners and St. Matthew — and a collection of Gothic and Renaissance paintings that were once in the Medici collections. After the tour, enjoy your free time shopping for Italian leather goods, art and crystal as lovely reminders of your journey through Italy. This afternoon, continue on to Montecatini, home for the next three nights. Dinner is included at the hotel this evening. (B, D)
Day 5 - Montecatini and Siena
After breakfast enjoy an included excursion to Siena. This is one of Italy's most popular destinations, known for its fine cuisine, art, museums, medieval cityscape and the Palio, a horse race held twice a year in the Piazza del Campo. Your local guide will walk with you through this beautiful Tuscan town and UNESCO World Heritage Site, as you discover the highlights of the city, including the Duomo of Siena, the 12th-century cathedral that serves as a splendid example of Italian Romanesque-Gothic architecture. See the Palazzo Pubblico, once City Hall, now an art museum, showcasing its famous frescoes or climb the "Torre del Mangia", the tall bell tower overlooking the Piazza del Campo. Siena is also known for its glazed terracotta pottery as well as locally produced wines and olive oil. Be sure to taste the delicious gelato and panforte, a cake made with honey and candied fruits. You'll have free time for lunch on your own and shopping for local specialities before returning to Montecatini this evening. (B)
Day 6 - Pisa, The Leaning Tower
This morning, depart on an included excursion to Pisa, best known for the bell tower of the cathedral, the "leaning Tower of Pisa". Your local guide will explain the history of this beautiful town as you walk around the Piazza dei Miracoli and see the architecture and historic walls of this medieval city.
Return to Montecatini for an afternoon at leisure. It's the perfect time to stroll through the city center or visit a spa with the curative water and healing springs for which the town is famous. (B)
Day 7 - Rome, The Eternal City
Leaving the resort town of Montecatini, board a high-speed train for your journey to Rome. With a history spanning more than 2,500 years, Rome offers a breathtaking overview of the highlights of Western civilization. From the remarkable Coliseum to the gorgeous Sistine Chapel to Vatican City, this bustling metropolis invites you to imagine life centuries ago as you gaze upon memorials to ancient civilizations.
Upon arrival, enjoy a panoramic tour of the city and a guided visit to the Coliseum. Built between 70-80 AD, the Coliseum is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering and remains the largest amphitheater in the world. The tour ends at the hotel. (B)
Day 8 - Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
This morning, enjoy a guided visit to the spiritual center of the Roman Catholic Church and the smallest independent state in the world: Vatican City. During the guided visit of the Vatican Museums you'll walk through halls containing some of the most priceless art treasures in the world. The highlight of the visit may be the Sistine Chapel which houses the single most impressive work of art by Michelangelo. During the visit to St. Peter's Basilica, experience the magnificence of Bernini, Michelangelo, and other great artists of the Roman Renaissance and Baroque periods. Be sure to see Michelangelo's famous statue, Pietà, created by the artist when he was only 25 years old. The afternoon and evening are free to enjoy on your own. (B)
Day 9 - Day at leisure in Rome
Your last day in Rome is yours to enjoy as you wish. This evening join your Tour Manager and fellow travelers for a farewell dinner at the hotel. (B, D)
Day 10 - Rome/USA
As you depart Italy you'll be filled with memories of Renaissance art and architecture, rolling hills and vineyards and all the glory of the Roman Empire. (B)
Dates & Prices
Select from the packages below to view prices for this tour.
|Departure Date
|27th March 2017
|Book Now
|23rd April 2017
|Book Now
|16th October 2017
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|6th November 2017
|Book Now
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: Departs 27th March 2017 ($2,449), 23rd April 2017 ($2,599), 16th October 2017 ($2,599), 6th November 2017 ($2,449)
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text:
Born: 1922 AD
Died: 1979 AD
Died: 1979 AD
Nationality: N/A
Categories: Politician
Categories: Politician
1922 – Born on the 17th of November in Bengo, Angola.
1940 – He became an important member of a movement in Angola.
– He was also aided in several occasions by the Portuguese Communist Party.
1975 – He was one of the first members of the MPLA.
– He was succeeded in his capacity as president of the state and MPLA leader.
1976 – He was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize.
1979 – He died on the 10th of September in Moscow, Soviet Union.


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It's that time again! The time where I put one book selection for this month in the hands of my very tasteful readers. Who knows what this month will bring.
This feature is done at Everyday Reading.
You can recommend a book from any genre; however, I will not read erotica, or books with excessive language or sexuality. I will somehow get a hold of the book via the library, paperback swap, or the bookstore. Then, I will read the book and post a review. Please check out my Goodreads page to see the books that I have already read. If I pick a book that I've already read, I will select a new one. Oh, and only one suggestion per person please. Otherwise my brain might melt. You can pick books that haven't been released yet, but be aware that I may not have a copy.
Leave your suggestion in the comments. I will select the book on April 8.


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- Report: #45037
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Complaint Review: Homeq Aka The Money Store
Homeq Aka The Money Storewww.homeq.com Charlotte, North Carolina U.S.A.
Homeq Aka The Money Store Rip-off violating harassment laws Charlotte North Carolina
*UPDATE EX-employee responds: Your points are not entirely true.
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I had talked to them on multiple occasions about their violation of Florida harrassment law and was told that they do not care about the law and that they will continue to call as much as they want, when ever they want. On every occasion they declined to say this when being recorded, of course.
Be aware that most states limit collection calls to a maximum of 2 per day. (You may want to contact your states Commerce Department, or what agency regulates collections, to verify the specific regulations.) As Homeq states that they are atempting to collect a debt at the onset of the call then they are placing themselves not only under harrassment law but also the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which is federal law.
They avoid numerous lawsuits simply by using a caller id block so as to not provide evidence against themselves. If a person was to file a harrassment suit against them they would have to suppoena Homeq's phone records, which would surely necessitate a lengthy, and costly, legal battle in its own right. Also be aware that some states allow you to record telephone conversations without notifying the other party.
You may do so to garner evidence against them but you must check with your state to see if they allow recording with one party notified. Unfortunately florida is not one of them and when ever they are advised that the conversation is being recorded they usually hang up! (Which is a good way to get them off the line.) There are many ways to take action aganst them.
The most major problem is the retaining of an attorney as they are necessary in bringing suit against an unfair or harrassing creditor. I myself am saving money for just such a contingency
Sarasota, Florida
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 02/11/2003 03:02 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Homeq-Aka-The-Money-Store/Charlotte-North-Carolina/Homeq-Aka-The-Money-Store-Rip-off-violating-harassment-laws-Charlotte-North-Carolina-45037. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
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#1 UPDATE EX-employee responds
Your points are not entirely true.
AUTHOR: James - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, February 11, 2003POSTED: Tuesday, February 11, 2003
Your point about the Fair Debt Act is valid, although you mistate many of the points. Yes, 2 calls is the maximum per day, but that means two CONTACTS. When Homeq calls your home and recieves an answering machine, or the homeowner is not available, that does not count as a contact. Homeq also does not block their number any longer, and should show up on all caller ID boxes (I know this because I have a Homeq loan, and was called for a past due payment that was lost in the mail last month).
While your points are valid for a 3rd party collections agency, Homeq is actually under no obligation to take these steps on loans in which they own, such as yours. A loan which is owned by the company collecting the money, has no obligation to follow the Fair Debt Collections act. They have a seperate set of rules, which are not as strict. Homeq follows the FDC act, simply because it services loans of their own as well as for other companies, and to avoid complications, it treats all accounts the same.
While I do understand your frusteration with the calls (I also feel that Homeq should wait a few days after the payment due date for a little breathing room), the truth of the matter is that you have a contract with a specific due date that you are expected to uphold.
I am currently worknig as a lawyer in OH, and will advise you that bringing a lawsuit against Homeq is pointless. I personally have witnessed the company take every step possible to follow the FDCPA guidlines.
For those unaware, most of Homeq's loans are high interest due to servicing customers with sub-par credit records. This also explains why the agressive collection activity is taken. No offense, but simply put...these are high risk loans that have to be closely watched due to past history.
I hope this has helped.
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text:
- Report: #736932
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Complaint Review: Fitness Premier
Fitness PremierRoute 102 Bourbonnais, Illinois United States of America
Fitness Premier Cardinal Fitness Gym membership scam. Bourbonnais, Illinois
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I spoke to a young man named Aaron, I think. I explained that my card didn't work and he said he could get me a new one. After he made it, he told me that it was going to cost $10 to replace it. I paid the money but felt that it wasn't right. I started to leave and then turned back to the counter. I told him that I just wanted to cancel my membership. He asked why and I stated that I had to pay for a new key, but they didn't do anything to assist me the previous 2 nights.
He told me that I was already past the billing cycle, so I would be charged for January and that would be it. I told him that was no problem. The debit card I had on file expired in January so we were good there. I have not set foot back in the gym since.
In March, I received a letter from them saying that I owe them for February and March and that my debit card information had expired. I called the number on the letter and was given the number to the facility. I called and spoke to a woman who was quite nasty to me. I explained what had happened and she asked if I filled out any paperwork. I said that I didn't and that Aaron didn't offer any paperwork.
I told her what he told me, word for word. Her response..."too bad". I asked her how I could be responsible for their employees not doing their job. She dismissed my question and told me that if I didn't give her my new credit card information that she was going to send it to collections. I asked for a corporate number and she hung up on me.
I went home and email the company about my issue. I never got a response. I tried to go there in person and the door is locked and the key card that I paid $10 for no longer works.
Be very cautious when dealing with these people. They don't explain any rules when you sign up and they press you for your bank information. DON'T DO IT! You are better off buying your own equipment.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 06/04/2011 10:50 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Fitness-Premier/Bourbonnais-Illinois-60914/Fitness-Premier-Cardinal-Fitness-Gym-membership-scam-Bourbonnais-Illinois-736932. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report.
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- Keep the name short & simple, and try different variations of the name.
- Do not include ".com", "S", "Inc.", "Corp", or "LLC" at the end of the Company name.
- Use only the first/main part of a name to get best results.
- Only search one name at a time if Company has many AKA's.
Advertisers above have met our
strict standards for business conduct.


text:
I saw a picture on this board of somebody's child with DS wearing a shirt that said 'Don't dis my ability'. I loved it and want to get one for Braden if possible. Does anybody know if and where I could find one?
I did a little internet search and it brought me to an organization by the same name. I am assuming the t-shirt came from that group, but I didn't see a store or anything on the website.
Can anybody help me out? TIA! :)


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About the Book
Owls have always featured prominently in the mythology and folklore of a variety of cultures. These mysterious nocturnal creatures are thought to be symbols of wisdom, omens of death, and bringers of prophecy. In fact, owls are one of the oldest species of vertebrate animal, with fossils dating back 60 million years.
Owls have been a source of inspiration to writers, artists, historians and naturalists alike. In a much-anticipated volume on one of Britain's most fascinating group of birds, Mike Toms draws on a wealth of experience and research, providing a comprehensive natural history of British owls.
The first part of the book covers various aspects of owl taxonomy, origins, anatomy, behaviour and ecology and looks across the British owl species, drawing comparisons and highlighting differences. The second part takes each species in turn to provide a more detailed perspective, fleshing out relevant conservation issues, behaviour and status.
Toms explores Britain's beloved Barn Owl, Tawny Owl and Snowy Owl amongst several others. He uses the vast database and latest research from his work with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) to focus particularly on the specifics of owls' breeding ecology, their dispersal patterns, diet, vocalisations, description, population changes and mortality. He addresses conservation issues, changes in legislation and potential changes in the status of one of Britain's most iconic birds, providing a fascinating overview of the biology and history of British owls.
Educator and Librarian Resources
Product Details
- Imprint: William Collins
- On Sale: 01/02/2014
- Trimsize: 155 (w) x 222 (h) x 0 (d)
- Pages: 432
- List Price: 75.00 USD
- BISAC1: NATURE / Birdwatching Guides


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MCS-COMP is our new competition mini chassis and is offered in two short action versions which feature a low-profile ambidextrous mag release. The first version has the same overall length as our standard DBM mini chassis. The second version is an extended model which features a rock-solid accessory mounting location about 2" forward of the front action screw.
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Manners Stocks were the most popular competition stocks for the 2nd year in a row. In 2014, almost 30% of all the shooters who finished in the top 50 ran a Manners Stock including 7 of the top 10. In 2015, pro shooters trusted a Manners Composite Stock more than twice as much as any other brand. About 1/3 of the shooters in the top 100 and almost 40% in the top 50 were using Manners stocks, and top 10 shooters chose Manners Stocks more than any other single brand.