Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Life or Death, Part II
As you may know there was the 33rd Anniversary Walk for Life held in Washington DC and elsewhere as a response to the SCOTUS ruling on Roe v. Wade. A pictoral essay showing what happened in San Francisco can be seen HERE. Two things I found notable concerning the City by the Bay. Look at the huge numbers of Pro-Life, and look at the 'other side' as well. The pictures truly speak for themselves. Speaking of which... Here's a solution to the abortion issue I hadn' t thought of... 
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Life or Death...which side are we on?
I have written on this subject before, but recent events have brought this issue much closer to where I live. I've always been a fan of Michelle Malkin, and her story here about a little girl named Haliegh is a great example of how quickly we write off people ahead of God's schedule in doing a work in their lives.
Another would be my 84 year-old mom. Her home caught on fire a couple of weeks ago. She wasn't breathing when the firefighters pulled her out. Her Carbon monoxide levels were at about 50% when they wheeled her into the emergency room. After about ten days in ICU, the doctors were not optimistic about her chances of recovery. They actually requested that we have a "DNR" order on file in case her heart or breathing stopped, as they could get no cognitive response from her. At the risk of starting a tent meeting here on this blog, my wife and I always had peace about my mom's situation, up or down, through the Lord Jesus. We weren't going write her life off with a signature on a piece of paper. It was on the same day that we went down to the hospital. Mom had lost the hearing aids and the glasses in the fire. I got down by her ear and essentially yelled at her to wake up and show these people that the lights were on, and somebody was at home. She did. Doctors are amazed, she's in rehab, and we're thankful.
Another would be my 84 year-old mom. Her home caught on fire a couple of weeks ago. She wasn't breathing when the firefighters pulled her out. Her Carbon monoxide levels were at about 50% when they wheeled her into the emergency room. After about ten days in ICU, the doctors were not optimistic about her chances of recovery. They actually requested that we have a "DNR" order on file in case her heart or breathing stopped, as they could get no cognitive response from her. At the risk of starting a tent meeting here on this blog, my wife and I always had peace about my mom's situation, up or down, through the Lord Jesus. We weren't going write her life off with a signature on a piece of paper. It was on the same day that we went down to the hospital. Mom had lost the hearing aids and the glasses in the fire. I got down by her ear and essentially yelled at her to wake up and show these people that the lights were on, and somebody was at home. She did. Doctors are amazed, she's in rehab, and we're thankful.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
No Comment...(mostly)
As an 'infidel', I continue to be curious about Islamic rituals and how they may compare to the things we do. I'm not sure if we have any that compare. Certainly, I would hope any ritual wouldn't be quite as dangerous as this appears to be... Items in bold are of particular interest to me, but as I said, no comment.
Saudi Government Says 345 Killed in Hajj Stampede
Thursday, January 12, 2006
MINA, Saudi Arabia — Thousands of Muslim pilgrims rushing to complete a symbolic stoning ritual during the hajj tripped over luggage Thursday, causing a crush in which at least 345 people were killed, the Interior Ministry said.
The stampede occurred as tens of thousands of pilgrims headed toward al-Jamarat, a series of three pillars representing the devil that the faithful pelt with stones to purge themselves of sin.
A ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, said the stampede happened as pilgrims were rushing to complete the last of three days of the stoning ritual before sunset. Some of the pilgrims began to trip over dropped luggage, causing a large pileup, al-Turki said.
Ambulances and police cars streamed into the area, and security forces tried to move pilgrims away from part of the site, though thousands continued with the ritual.
Saudi authorities replaced the small round pillars with short walls to allow more people to throw their stones without jostling for position. They also recently widened the bridge, built extra ramps and increased the time pilgrims can carry out the rite — which on the second and final days traditionally takes place from midday until sunset.
Shiite Muslim clerics have issued religious edicts allowing pilgrims to start the ritual in the morning, and many Shiites from Iraq, Iran, Bahrain, Lebanon and Pakistan took advantage to go early in the day.
"This is much better. We are now done with the stoning before the crowd gets larger," an Iranian pilgrim, Azghar Meshadi, said hours before the stampede.
But Saudi Arabia's Sunni Muslim clerics, who follow the fundamentalist Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, encouraged pilgrims to stick to the midday rule.
The stoning ritual is one of the last events of the hajj pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites, which able-bodied Muslims with the financial means are required by their faith to do at least once.
Many pilgrims had already finished the stoning ritual Thursday and had gone back to Mecca to carry out a farewell circuit around the Kaaba, the black stone cube that Muslims face when they do their daily prayers.
Saudi Government Says 345 Killed in Hajj Stampede
Thursday, January 12, 2006
MINA, Saudi Arabia — Thousands of Muslim pilgrims rushing to complete a symbolic stoning ritual during the hajj tripped over luggage Thursday, causing a crush in which at least 345 people were killed, the Interior Ministry said.
The stampede occurred as tens of thousands of pilgrims headed toward al-Jamarat, a series of three pillars representing the devil that the faithful pelt with stones to purge themselves of sin.
A ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, said the stampede happened as pilgrims were rushing to complete the last of three days of the stoning ritual before sunset. Some of the pilgrims began to trip over dropped luggage, causing a large pileup, al-Turki said.
Ambulances and police cars streamed into the area, and security forces tried to move pilgrims away from part of the site, though thousands continued with the ritual.
Saudi authorities replaced the small round pillars with short walls to allow more people to throw their stones without jostling for position. They also recently widened the bridge, built extra ramps and increased the time pilgrims can carry out the rite — which on the second and final days traditionally takes place from midday until sunset.
Shiite Muslim clerics have issued religious edicts allowing pilgrims to start the ritual in the morning, and many Shiites from Iraq, Iran, Bahrain, Lebanon and Pakistan took advantage to go early in the day.
"This is much better. We are now done with the stoning before the crowd gets larger," an Iranian pilgrim, Azghar Meshadi, said hours before the stampede.
But Saudi Arabia's Sunni Muslim clerics, who follow the fundamentalist Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, encouraged pilgrims to stick to the midday rule.
The stoning ritual is one of the last events of the hajj pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites, which able-bodied Muslims with the financial means are required by their faith to do at least once.
Many pilgrims had already finished the stoning ritual Thursday and had gone back to Mecca to carry out a farewell circuit around the Kaaba, the black stone cube that Muslims face when they do their daily prayers.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
One of the NSA 'leakers'?
Found this interview with Russell Tice, a former NSA/DIA guy that was fired in May of '05 thru Michelle Malkin, and "Democracy Now", with Amy Goodman doing the interview. If you haven't watched it on cable, Democracy Now thinks CNN is part of a GOP/corporate conspiracy. This is not the transcript in its entirety, but I lifted out some interesting comments. I'm not sure what to make of Mr. Tice. I'm not sure he does either...
He basically agrees that the NSA is supposed to be doing the things its doing and as Bush said, that it was a 'good thing to know if Al-Qaeda is dialing your number'. He was never asked to spy on Americans and doesn't know anyone that did. He got fired and doesn't indicate why.
Transcript(my edits) here...
AMY GOODMAN:… can you just describe for us what is the National Security Agency? How does it monitor these communications?
RUSSELL TICE: Well, the National Security Agency is an agency that deals with monitoring communications for the defense of the country.
AMY GOODMAN: Russell Tice, you have worked for the National Security Agency. Can you talk about your response to the revelations that the Times…the revelation of the wiretapping of American citizens?
RUSSELL TICE: Well, as far as an intelligence officer, especially a SIGINT (Signals Intelligence, rw) officer at N.S.A., we're taught from very early on in our careers that you just do not do this…Ultimately, so do the leaders of N.S.A., and apparently the leaders of N.S.A. have decided that they were just going to go against the tenets of something that’s a gospel to a SIGINT officer.
AMY GOODMAN: We talk to Russell Tice, former intelligence agent with the National Security Agency, formerly with the Defense Intelligence Agency, worked with the N.S.A. up until May 2005. Russell Tice, what happened then? What happened in May 2005?
RUSSELL TICE: Well, basically I was given my walking papers and told I was no longer a federal employee. So –
AMY GOODMAN: What would you say to those who say you are speaking out now simply because you are disgruntled?
RUSSELL TICE: Well, I guess that’s a valid argument. You know, I was fired.
AMY GOODMAN: What do you think of the Justice Department launching an investigation into the leak, who leaked the fact that President Bush was spying on American citizens?
RUSSELL TICE: Well, I think this is an attempt to make sure that no intelligence officer ever considers doing this.
AMY GOODMAN: And what do you think of the news that the National Security Agency spying on American citizens without a court order and foreign nationals is now sharing this information with other agencies like, well, the other agency you worked for, the Defense Intelligence Agency?
RUSSELL TICE: …So it’s not unusual for the intelligence community to share information. But when we’re talking about information on the American public, which is a violation of the FISA law, then I think it's even something more to be concerned about.
AMY GOODMAN: Were you ever asked to engage in this?
RUSSELL TICE: No, no...
AMY GOODMAN: What about the telecoms, the telecommunications corporations working with the Bush administration to open up a back door to eavesdropping, to wiretapping?
RUSSELL TICE: If that was done and, you know, I use a big “if” here…
AMY GOODMAN: We're talking to Russell Tice, former intelligence agent with the National Security Agency, worked at the N.S.A. up until May of 2005. What is data mining?
RUSSELL TICE: Data mining is a means by which you -- you have information, and you go searching for all associated elements of that information in whatever sort of data banks or databases that you put together with information. So if you have a phone number and you want to associate it with, say, a terrorist or something, and you want to associate it with, you know, ‘Who is this terrorist talking to?’ you start doing data on what sort of information or what sort of numbers does that person call or the frequency of time, that sort of thing. And you start basically putting together a bubble chart of, you know, where everybody is.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you expect you are being monitored, surveilled, wiretapped right now?
RUSSELL TICE: Yes, I do.
AMY GOODMAN: President Bush. Russell Tice, you’re with the National Security Agency, or you were until May 2005. If al-Qaeda's calling, the U.S. government wants to know. Your response?
RUSSELL TICE: Well, that's probably a good thing to know.
AMY GOODMAN: Did you support the President, Russell Tice? Did you vote for President Bush?
RUSSELL TICE: I am a Republican. I voted for President Bush both in the last election and the first election where he was up for …it’s not like, you know -- I think you’re going to find a lot of folks that are in the Department of Defense and the intelligence community are apt to be on the conservative side of the fence.
AMY GOODMAN: Russell Tice, did you know anyone within the N.S.A. who refused to spy on Americans, who refused to follow orders?
RUSSELL TICE: No. No, I do not. As far as -- of course, I'm not witting of anyone that was told they will spy on an American...
He basically agrees that the NSA is supposed to be doing the things its doing and as Bush said, that it was a 'good thing to know if Al-Qaeda is dialing your number'. He was never asked to spy on Americans and doesn't know anyone that did. He got fired and doesn't indicate why.
Transcript(my edits) here...
AMY GOODMAN:… can you just describe for us what is the National Security Agency? How does it monitor these communications?
RUSSELL TICE: Well, the National Security Agency is an agency that deals with monitoring communications for the defense of the country.
AMY GOODMAN: Russell Tice, you have worked for the National Security Agency. Can you talk about your response to the revelations that the Times…the revelation of the wiretapping of American citizens?
RUSSELL TICE: Well, as far as an intelligence officer, especially a SIGINT (Signals Intelligence, rw) officer at N.S.A., we're taught from very early on in our careers that you just do not do this…Ultimately, so do the leaders of N.S.A., and apparently the leaders of N.S.A. have decided that they were just going to go against the tenets of something that’s a gospel to a SIGINT officer.
AMY GOODMAN: We talk to Russell Tice, former intelligence agent with the National Security Agency, formerly with the Defense Intelligence Agency, worked with the N.S.A. up until May 2005. Russell Tice, what happened then? What happened in May 2005?
RUSSELL TICE: Well, basically I was given my walking papers and told I was no longer a federal employee. So –
AMY GOODMAN: What would you say to those who say you are speaking out now simply because you are disgruntled?
RUSSELL TICE: Well, I guess that’s a valid argument. You know, I was fired.
AMY GOODMAN: What do you think of the Justice Department launching an investigation into the leak, who leaked the fact that President Bush was spying on American citizens?
RUSSELL TICE: Well, I think this is an attempt to make sure that no intelligence officer ever considers doing this.
AMY GOODMAN: And what do you think of the news that the National Security Agency spying on American citizens without a court order and foreign nationals is now sharing this information with other agencies like, well, the other agency you worked for, the Defense Intelligence Agency?
RUSSELL TICE: …So it’s not unusual for the intelligence community to share information. But when we’re talking about information on the American public, which is a violation of the FISA law, then I think it's even something more to be concerned about.
AMY GOODMAN: Were you ever asked to engage in this?
RUSSELL TICE: No, no...
AMY GOODMAN: What about the telecoms, the telecommunications corporations working with the Bush administration to open up a back door to eavesdropping, to wiretapping?
RUSSELL TICE: If that was done and, you know, I use a big “if” here…
AMY GOODMAN: We're talking to Russell Tice, former intelligence agent with the National Security Agency, worked at the N.S.A. up until May of 2005. What is data mining?
RUSSELL TICE: Data mining is a means by which you -- you have information, and you go searching for all associated elements of that information in whatever sort of data banks or databases that you put together with information. So if you have a phone number and you want to associate it with, say, a terrorist or something, and you want to associate it with, you know, ‘Who is this terrorist talking to?’ you start doing data on what sort of information or what sort of numbers does that person call or the frequency of time, that sort of thing. And you start basically putting together a bubble chart of, you know, where everybody is.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you expect you are being monitored, surveilled, wiretapped right now?
RUSSELL TICE: Yes, I do.
AMY GOODMAN: President Bush. Russell Tice, you’re with the National Security Agency, or you were until May 2005. If al-Qaeda's calling, the U.S. government wants to know. Your response?
RUSSELL TICE: Well, that's probably a good thing to know.
AMY GOODMAN: Did you support the President, Russell Tice? Did you vote for President Bush?
RUSSELL TICE: I am a Republican. I voted for President Bush both in the last election and the first election where he was up for …it’s not like, you know -- I think you’re going to find a lot of folks that are in the Department of Defense and the intelligence community are apt to be on the conservative side of the fence.
AMY GOODMAN: Russell Tice, did you know anyone within the N.S.A. who refused to spy on Americans, who refused to follow orders?
RUSSELL TICE: No. No, I do not. As far as -- of course, I'm not witting of anyone that was told they will spy on an American...
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