So, sitting at my computer waiting for dinner to be ready, I started using the “del.icio.us randomizer” and stumbled across a really cool flash animation that tells the history of the Middle East in 90 seconds.
Archive for the 'politics' Category
I don’t get it. Since when has guerrilla marketing been a terrorist act? I don’t know what caused the happy people of Boston to go totally off the deep end, but it baffles me. Katie sent me this link on Wednesday. Who knew that a few little lighted sheets of metal with a battery could cause mass chaos. Ted Turner certainly didn’t think so, well it was probably the PR people that had no clue. Bruce Schneier has an excellent overview on his blog.
What has really happened is that the Cult of Terror has won. People are now so scared that random, should-be-funny events are taken totally out of context. This is not the America that I grew up in. I mean, I grew up in a not-the-best sort of neighborhood with sirens wailing at any and all hours of the day, and I never thought that it was possible for our society to become comfortable with this level of fear.
I spent a summer in Israel when I was 16. I suppose that this was during a lull in the first Intifada. The Israelis had already become used the climate of terror that had infested Israel. The bomb squad came in and “disposed” of a suspicious package more than once in the time that I was there. Soldiers walked around the streets and took trips on buses with rifles in their hands. In reality, I never felt safer in my life – because this was not an abnormal experience in Israel.
But that was Israel, not the United States of America. It will take many years of living in this climate of fear and terror for us to become used to it. But the question to me is, when that happens how many of our liberties and rights have to be surrendered? Another question would be will the new America resemble the one I grew up in?
Oh yeah, almost forgot about this little blurb over at Techdirt…
Found this on Boing Boing: Chertoff: The internet is turning people into terrorists
I think it takes quite a leap to go from the dissemination of information to creation of terrorists. The Internet is a soap box from which people can voice their disparate views, thoughts and ideas. In certain ways, it is not much different from speaker’s platforms in parks that have made an appearance since before the American War of Indepence and also in the 1960’s. In certain ways, the Internet also bears resemblance to the free press that we are guaranteed by the Constitution, in the 1st Amendment.
I feel that the statement by Chertoff may show the direction that the current administration could be planning. We, as the American society, have already proven that we are willing to give up our rights and liberties for the appearance of safety. I point to the USA Patriot Act.
Benjamin Franklin said it best – “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Historical Review of Pennsylvania (1759)
I have received two reponses from Suja Lowenthal’s office today. One directly and one through a neighbor that forwarded the link to my open letter post to a staff member. One response points out that these facilities are either regulated by the state, or are not regulated and viewed like homes of large families, groups of friends or college students. The response also points out that research has to be done to determine which category the establishment next door falls under. Let me point out some of the information that I found:
- The facility next door is listed on a State of California facility directory: LA County Treatment Provider Listing (PDF) look at Provider ID 100077.
- The facility, all 3 units, is listed in another directory: Licensing and Certification Branch Directory (PDF) see the last entry on page 61 and the first two entries on page 62.
This indicates that the facility is somehow regulated by the State. Let me make a couple of points to ponder:
- If this is a regulated facility, I would think it would be in the State’s and the City’s best interest to ensure that appropriate staffing levels are maintained. What type of staff is mandated by the State for a facility of this type.
- Does Long Beach have any gang injunction zones? If so, can they be used to limit the number of known gang members in a treatment facility or to limit location of the facilities.
- There are laws that limit the locations of College Fraternity houses in Long Beach (at least that was what I was once told), are these laws general enough to allow them to be used to regulate placement and capacity of these facilities?
- Are they any laws on the books that can be applied to residences that limit the number of residents per bedroom or per square foot? If so, does 6 residents in a 1000 sq ft dwelling break the rules?
I am going to send the link to this story to the staff member that contacted me directly. I am also going to request his permission to post his response in its entirety. I think it is important to get as much information out in the open as possible.
-Josh