Hell's Half Acre

Ma Bell I Got The Ill Communication

UNPAID PHONE BILLS SHUT DOWN SOME FBI WIRETAPS
The FBI has hit a major hang-up in its wiretapping surveillance program by failing to pay its phone bills on time. Facing tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills, telephone companies have cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals, a DOJ audit released Thursday shows. In one office alone, unpaid costs for wiretaps from one phone company totalled $66,000.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_7934882

Rove V. Plame

Update on the Karl Rove/Valerie Plame scandal. I have been watching this matter since the scandal broke.  I'm hardly surprised that K Rove leaked Plame's identity. I am now interested in seeing how the Administration handles their missteps.   I'd prefer not to see this brushed under the rug, and perhaps, because the scandal has landed a reporter in jail for refusing to reveal sources, perhaps journalists will cover this story more closely.  One can only hope that the machine does not bulldoze this into the ground.  It's a small example of the Administration's arrogance and belief that they are above the rules.

An excerpt from today's NYTimes Online article:

At White House, a Day of Silence on Rove's Role in C.I.A. Leak

WASHINGTON, July 11 - Nearly two years after stating that any administration official found to have been involved in leaking the name of an undercover C.I.A. officer would be fired, and assuring that Karl Rove and other senior aides to President Bush had nothing to do with the disclosure, the White House refused on Monday to answer any questions about new evidence of Mr. Rove's role in the matter.

---------

The 1982 law that makes it a crime to disclose the identities of covert operatives is not easy to break. It has apparently been the basis of a single prosecution, against Sharon M. Scranage, a C.I.A. clerk in Ghana who pleaded guilty in 1985 to identifying two C.I.A. agents to a boyfriend.

A prosecutor seeking to establish a violation of the law has to establish an intentional disclosure by someone with authorized access to classified information. That person must know that the disclosure identifies a covert agent "and that the United States was taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent's intelligence relationship to the United States." A covert agent is defined as someone whose identity is classified and who has served outside the United States within the last five years.

"We made it exceedingly difficult to violate," Victoria Toensing, who was chief counsel to the Senate intelligence committee when the law was enacted, said of the law.

super german spam

today's spam titles from the Webmaster inbox:

The German Lived Like A Whore

Multi-Kulturell = Multi-Kriminell

Cloudy flagrant

and the ubiquitous

Free Porn!

roots

So I saw some interesting things about my tribe, Tlingit, that I feel like posting. I actually knew a little about it already because I wrote a paper on it back at the University of Washington. Anyway, here's your trivial pursuit for today.

SHAMANISM

One of the more colorful and fascinating aspects of Tlingit ceremonial history is shamanism. The Tlingit Indians believed in malevolent spirits that interfered with their lives. Only an individual who possessed certain knowledge, i.e. the shaman, could intercede and break their power. For example, the shaman could cure the sick by driving out evil spirits; he could guarantee large fish runs and good weather. Often his powers were called upon to assure success in battle or to combat witches. A famous Yakutat shaman is credited with preventing the great smallpox epidemic of 1836 from reaching his village.

A shaman had at his command a number of spiritual helpers called yeks through which he made contact with the supernatural world. Each yek was assigned a special name and song. Yeks could assume both animal and human form, and were the subject of shamanic art, especially carved masks. The success of the shaman, who incidentally was well paid in advance for his services, depended upon the number of yeks under his control, and his rapport with them . If the shaman's efforts met with failure, he usually had an explanation for the client such as interference by bad spirits. Another payment would then be required for further services.

The appearance of the shaman must have been impressive. His hair was never cut or combed, and formed a long mat down his back. His costume- typically a hide apron, shoulder robe and crown-could be decorated with animal claws and carved bones. During his wild contorted dance to conjure up the spirit world, he often donned the mask of the desired yek. While manipulating rattles, charms and batons, the shaman would chant, groan, hiss, cry, and so forth, until he worked himself into a trance-like state.

more. . .

I need to find my own yek. I think my yek is a raven which is a trickster. That sucks. I don't know though. I'm just making it up as I go along, like any good religion.

(not Michael) Bolton

Undersecretary John R. Bolton has been nominated by Bush to be the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.  Some quotes attributed to Bolton, according to the NYTimes are:

Critics, though, recall his 1994 comment that it would not matter if the top 10 stories of the 39-floor U.N. headquarters building in New York were lost.

He has said there is ``no such thing as the United Nations,'' and asserted that the United States is the only real authority the world has. He has also questioned whether the organization undertakes too many peacekeeping missions.

In February, he sharply criticized China for selling missile technology to Iran and other countries. He has been critical of Europe's efforts to reach an agreement with Iran to curb that country's nuclear program.

During administration efforts two years ago to seek an agreement with North Korea over its nuclear program, Bolton called that country's leader a ``tyrannical dictator.'' North Korean officials refused to deal with him.

Bolton helped lead U.S. opposition to the International Criminal Court and the United States' eventual withdrawal from the treaty creating the court.

His opponents have accused him of claiming without evidence that Syria and Cuba were trying to develop biological weapons.

What a swell guy!  That's who I would love to have representing my country in the U.N. The "diplomatic envoy" Bully.  He sounds like yet another crazy maker.

Please Zod, you know I hate the passing of time but please oh please make this term go by quickly.