Politics in Minnesota

In this season of thanks, we can always give thanks for leaks and lols. I really hate Secret Treaties. Secret Treaties Suck!!! Especially absurd copyright treaties.

The FDIC Is Broke - The Market Ticker. Oh noes! A coverup is needed immediately says Mishkin!

A hell of a story: Noted FBI provocateur Brandon Darby and a bullshit Grand Jury and some snarky emails. Epic trolling, the Feds being dumb, and a huge amount of taxpayer dollars wasted. "These days will eventually end and will be seen as the modern McCarthy era for the next generation." Amazing!

Climate Email explosion still a LOL: In a nutshell, Project Mayhem spells it out: Global warming exposed as UN-funded fraud, or rather, at a minimum a lot of people are being very shady, now caught with hands inthe ol cookie jar. Goldman Sachs 666 notes the skrilla to be made by these guys. Al Gore “laying low” in Canada. Get a sunspot widget @ Widget « Watts Up With That?

The funniest part is the comments in the FORTRAN code, of course!! GO FORTRAN CLIMATE CONSPIRACY. [UPDATE: A great Reddit thread on the code ] CRU Emails “may” be open to interpretation, but commented code by the programmer tells the real story « Watts Up With That?

Climate Alarmists Finally Admit The Debate Is Not Over

Debt explosion: even the NYT is worried about government debt. AKA the avalanche.

Facebook spying against beer!! And in LaCrosse no less!! Facebook friend turns into Big Brother

Librarian win: Library is pressed to take gang force report off Web | StarTribune.com - but they won't!! Legislative Reference Library rocks.

MOAR secrecy: New Executive Order Aims to Avoid Declass Deadline | Secrecy News. UK genetic data mining insanity and DNA sampling!! YUCK.

Misc file: The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is cool.

Wobblies in Palestine!

A Proposal For Goldman Sachs: Pay Down $21.2 Billion In TLGP Borrowings Using Your $20 Billion+ Bonus Accrual | zero hedge

Sibel Edmonds' Boiling Frogs Post | Home of the Irate Minority is cooking up the goodz.

Priceless photos of JFK, Bush found under Fort Worth bridge.

Investigative journos' Book looks good: but the page is inside some app. Weird.

Techs: HOW TO: Make Social Media Work for Non-Consumer Brands and Mashable jobs too. ALso 5 Important Tips for Successful Web Meetings.RIP Joost

Murdoch to go away. Nice!!!Murdoch: Take Your Google Ball and Go Home.l After Being Out Foxed On The Web, MySpace May Do An About Face(book) | Nifty: Trefis Makes Understanding Stock Prices Easy.

A random video on Freemasons. If that's your thing.

Unbelievably horrible acid burns against women in Pakistan. This is the most awful thing ever pretty much, very graphic disturbing & kudos for the people involved in documenting it.

Weak: Obama Plans 34K More Troops for Afghanistan -- News from Antiwar.com AND t r u t h o u t | McChrystal Testing the Limits

Minneapolis IRV: Via e-democracy fora: Some pitch saying Instant Runoff (aka Ranked Choice Voting 'cause it sure ain't instant) should get chucked out but others don't buy it. The MN Supreme Court was pretty clear... [Also, Guardian Angels on the Greenway with their weird Masonic iconography?]

Wicked Chicago cops busted but you don't know who they are? Because why should anyone find out? 2 Chicago officers punished after G-20 photo probe - KRDO.com

CHICAGO (AP) - A Chicago police spokesman says two high-ranking officers have been reprimanded after a video surfaced that showed officers posing with a handcuffed suspect at the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh.

Police began investigating after video of the September incident began circulating on the Internet. In the video, more than a dozen officers in riot gear pose for a photo with the suspect kneeling in front of them.

Police spokesman Roderick Drew said Tuesday that a department chief and a commander were reprimanded. He declined to identify the officers or say how or why they were punished.

A lawyer for the detained man, a 21-year-old university student, has said his client was wrongly detained while returning to campus from a pizza parlor.

Modestly amusing: My Glenn Beck Pie Toss Flop | Mobile Broadcast News

Student uprisings in California and elsewhere: It was interesting to follow what is happening in CA with a 30%+ hike in costs sparking unrest on many campuses. This essay was pretty good in reflecting on how stylish New York City (white) anarchists must be at all times - and the exclusionary identities therein. Inside the UC Occupations Guerilla Film Screening: Everything Belongs to Everybody : Indybay.

Stuff in Greece got blowed up - a lot is going on there too, see Antiauthoritarian Movement :: Gallery :: Εκρηκτικός μηχανισμός στην ΑΚ
MOAR: Local crazies! Today I came face to face with a Rush Limbaugh fan who had stepped over the edge - Democratic Underground

Cancer is a racket? Hell I don't know but YouTube - G Edward Griffin, World without Cancer part 1 of 6 and Cancer Home Page. Earlier, a popular post on hongpong: Canadian discovers hemp oil cures cancer... hoax or another typical moment in the pharma-industrial-death complex?
Why do greasy Republicans think they are having a revolution? Right wing gatekeeper revolutionary vanguardism is narsty. Patty pat!
CBS is going all stoner: Mom: Marijuana Helps My Son's Autism - The Early Show - CBS News

Yeh I have been up around with the sniffles all week. Finally today the ol' sinus passages cleared out and I feel good once more. This was an interesting week, as on Monday I met the one and only Dries Buytaert, the guy who invented Drupal back in college. (The Drupal team is at the U of M to do badass User Interface research). That was the same day as the Veto Override of the Transportation bill, which included a ban on privatizing the road systems of Minnesota.

I suspect that the ban may have been related to the work I did exposing the NAFTA Superhighway plan for MN back in December, which apparently got picked up by the DFL Capitol staff. have to follow up on that.

So yeah, today is the first in quite a few days where I don't feel totally gunked or garbled. Not bad for a Friday!!!

Hey everyone, I caught some important news late Friday afternoon (And I've got a cold right now and nothin' better to do!).

The big news is that the City of St. Paul would take all applications for demonstrations and space in parks on March 3rd. Naturally the City put out the news very late on Friday to keep it off the news radar. There are only a few days to offer some kinds of finalized plans for the permitted use of public space during the Republican National Convention. http://www.stpaul.gov/convention/rncpermits.html
Since the process apparently involves a drawing/lottery, it may be a good idea for many groups of people (bands?) to enter into the lottery system and win space/time in a park.
There was a brief story about it in the Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/15883057.html

Protesting at the RNC? Forms due March 3

St. Paul outlines its process for getting permits for demonstrations or large-group park space during the Republican National Convention.

By CHRIS HAVENS, Star Tribune

Last update: February 22, 2008 - 11:06 PM

Protesters, parkgoers and parade organizers, put March 3 on your calendar.

That's the day permit applications will be accepted for demonstrating or getting park space for groups of 25 or more during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Applications are available now.

The permits would cover the time between Aug. 30 and Sept. 4. The convention will be held Sept. 1-4 at the Xcel Energy Center. More than 45,000 delegates, members of the news media and protesters are expected.

"We hope to accommodate as many people as logistically possible," said Erin Dady, the city's marketing director and convention planner.

Demonstration applications are available at the city website or at the Police Community Services Office, 1169 Rice St. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Some people want a protest area within sight and sound of the Xcel, and that space hasn't been determined yet, Dady said. "By no means will free speech be limited to one area," she said.

Applications will be reviewed by police and decisions made in a timely manner. More specific guidelines might be forthcoming, Dady said. Approvals could be delayed if more clarification or information is needed.

For more information on the city's rules regarding demonstration permits, go to www.ci.stpaul.mn.us/code/lc366a.html.

Applications to use space, pavilions and boat slips in the city's parks system for parties of 25 or more people are available at the city website and at the Parks and Recreation Permit Office, 1100 Hamline Av.

Parks permit applications will be accepted until 2 p.m. March 3, and a public lottery drawing will happen at 3 p.m. Applications received later will be handled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

A limited number of parks have been held for security reasons or convention activities.

Applications are online at www.stpaul.gov.

********

This was posted on the City of St. Paul website and I think matched the initial press release:

http://www.stpaul.gov/convention/rncpermits.html

Permit applications to use space, pavilions, and boat slips in Saint Paul 's parks system for parties and gatherings of 25 or more people during the Republican National Convention Aug. 30 to Sept. 4 are now available online and from the Saint Paul Parks & Recreation Permit Office, 1100 Hamline Ave. North.

In addition, permit applications for demonstrations during the same period are also available online and through the Saint Paul Police Community Services Office, 1169 Rice Street .

A limited number of Parks have been held for security purposes and convention activities, but the vast majority of Saint Paul Parks are available for permits. The City of Saint Paul Division of Parks and Recreation manages over 160 parks and open spaces, the Como Park Zoo and Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, 41 recreation centers, a 9 hole and three 18 hole golf courses, over 100 miles of trails, indoor and outdoor pools, a public beach, sports and aquatics facilities, and wonderful rental facilities for public and private gatherings.

“Hosting the Republican National Convention gives us an incredible opportunity to showcase the city's world-class parks system to visitors from around the globe,” said Bob Bierscheid, director of Saint Paul Parks & Recreation. “Park space will be in high demand, and we want to make sure that everyone has equal opportunity to access our parks and enjoy themselves during this exciting event.”

Similar to the process in which the city awards permits for park use through a lottery at the beginning of the year, permits during the RNC convention period will be accepted up to 2 p.m. March 3 at the permit office.

A lottery drawing from permit applications will then follow at 3 p.m. The drawing is open to the public and will be broadcast through the city's cable channel soon after the drawing. The permit office will notify people of the status of their application by mail.

Based on park availability, permit applications received after March 3 will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Demonstration permit applications will be accepted starting March 3, at which time applications received through the mail also will be opened. Community Services Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Applications will be reviewed and decisions made in a timely manner. However, if there are more questions or clarification is needed, the application approval can be delayed until the information is gathered.

More information on the city's rules regarding demonstration permits can be found in the City Charter and Codes section on the city's Web site at www.stpaul.gov/code . Reference Chapter 366A, which describes the procedures for applications as well as the rules, regulations, and fees.

“The City of Saint Paul is committed to accommodating as many people as logistically possible while ensuring a safe and enjoyable convention for residents and visitors,” said Erin Dady, Saint Paul marketing director. “Hosting a national event of this magnitude takes a lot of coordination from many city departments and outside groups. This permitting process facilitates the necessary planning for a successful event.”

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That's all. Thanks for reading through! (hopefully not spam to ya!)

--Dan Feidt - dan.feidt@gmail.com

The pooping lawyer of Chicago: I have no idea what this blog is trying to say, but I approve!

McGovern calls for Bush impeachment. Huzzah i guess.

Lookie here: this news comes from Potomac Flacks, written by, for, about Beltway PR people. Not bad!

Potomac Flacks: Davis Named Communications Coordinator for 2008 Republican National Convention

James Davis has been hired as the Communications Coordinator for the 2008 Republican National Convention. Prior to joining the convention staff, Davis worked in strategic communications in the Public Affairs Office of the Secretary of Defense where he was involved in efforts related to the Global War on Terrorism and other critical issues. While in chilly Minnesota, Davis will be working under Matt Burns who is running the show as Director of Communications and Spokesman for the Committee on Arrangements for the 2008 Republican National Convention. (PF Tipster)

And also:

Minnesota Monitor:: Defense Department blog coordinator hired for RNC

by: Andy Birkey / Fri Jan 11, 2008
The 2008 Republican National Convention has hired James Davis as communications coordinator, a move that bodes well for bloggers, particularly those on the right.

Before the current move to the RNC, Davis' job was strategic communications in the Public Affairs Office of the Secretary of Defense where, according to Ken Silverstein of Harper's Magazine, he helped pass Iraq war and War on Terrorism talking points from the Department of Defense to hand-picked bloggers.

During almost daily conference calls, bloggers and online journalists, including prominent Minnesota bloggers Scott Johnson and John Hinderaker of Power Line and Ed Morrissey Captain's Quarters, are connected with military personnel during the Blogger's Roundtable.

"The list of bloggers who regularly participate in the conference calls is overwhelmingly conservative and friendly to the goals of the Bush Administration," wrote Silverstein. "The government is picking certain people as 'surrogates' to the exclusion of many others and feeding them news."

According to the Department of Defense, the program, once called the "Surrogates Operation," has as its mission providing "source material for stories in the blogosphere concerning the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Global War on Terrorism by bloggers and online journalists."

"A few moderates are invited to take part, but the list of participants skews far, far to the right. The Pentagon essentially feeds participants the talking points, bullet points, and stories it wants told," wrote Silverstein.

While it's not surprising that the RNC hired someone with such a close history of working with pro-Iraq war bloggers, it will certainly ensure access between convention officials and bloggers such as Powerline and Captain's Quarters.

I don't know if this is a spoof or what: Lawyer's Cache of Poop! [the site banner had a great rich dude with a monocle, but it won't load now...]

DFLers Bonoff, Madia raise sizable sums in MN CD3. Hm. Skrilla Billa...

Check out this article about the British banking system, the economic collapse and all. Cityphilia by John Lanchester in the London Review of Books. I really really double recommend this one.

The Raw Story | Report reveals Vietnam War hoaxes, faked attacks meanwhile there is fishy stuff in the notorious Strait of Hormuz. The big deal now is how the establishment trumped up some Iranian boats zipping around the carriers and some old school middle eastern radio pirate lunatic known as the "Filipino Monkey": You just can't make this shit up.

Yes this is fairly awesome. It just shows that 2008 is the kind of year where slackers with high-powered radios can flip out the chokepoints of all the damn oil in the Persian Gulf. Not bad for a jester?

I am posting the whole article because it appears the great Filipino Monkey audio was immediately seized upon by the PSYOPS guys! The military public relations people spliced the audio and video together and got it out to American TV. Everyone looks a bit dumb now...

‘Filipino Monkey’ behind threats? - Navy News - Navy Times

By Andrew Scutro and David Brown - Staff writers, Posted : Sunday Jan 13, 2008 15:38:29 EST

The threatening radio transmission heard at the end of a video showing harassing maneuvers by Iranian patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz may have come from a locally famous heckler known among ship drivers as the “Filipino Monkey.”

Since the Jan. 6 incident was announced to the public a day later, the U.S. Navy has said it’s unclear where the voice came from. In the videotape released by the Pentagon on Jan. 8, the screen goes black at the very end and the voice can be heard, distancing it from the scenes on the water.

“We don’t know for sure where they came from,” said Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, spokeswoman for 5th Fleet in Bahrain. “It could have been a shore station.”

While the threat — “I am coming to you. You will explode in a few minutes” — was picked up during the incident, further jacking up the tension, there’s no proof yet of its origin. And several Navy officials have said it’s difficult to figure out who’s talking.

SEE THE PENTAGON’S VERSION OF THE VIDEO

A LINK TO THE IRANIAN VERSION (CLICK THE CAMERA ICON)

“Based on my experience operating in that part of the world, where there is a lot of maritime activity, trying to discern [who is speaking on the radio channel] is very hard to do,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead told Navy Times during a brief telephone interview today.

So with Navy officials unsure and the Iranians accusing the U.S. of fabrications, whose voice was it? In recent years, American ships operating in the Middle East have had to contend with a mysterious but profane voice known by the ethnically insulting handle of “Filipino Monkey,” likely more than one person, who listens in on ship-to-ship radio traffic and then jumps on the net shouting insults and jabbering vile epithets.

Navy women — a helicopter pilot hailing a tanker, for example — who are overheard on the radio are said to suffer particularly degrading treatment.

Several Navy ship drivers interviewed by Navy Times are raising the possibility that the Monkey, or an imitator, was indeed featured in that video.

Rick Hoffman, a retired captain who commanded the cruiser Hue City and spent many of his 17 years at sea in the Gulf was subject to the renegade radio talker repeatedly, often without pause during the so-called “Tanker Wars” of the late 1980s.

“For 25 years there’s been this mythical guy out there who, hour after hour, shouts obscenities and threats,” he said. “He could be tied up pierside somewhere or he could be on the bridge of a merchant ship.”

And the Monkey has stamina.

“He used to go all night long. The guy is crazy,” he said. “But who knows how many Filipino Monkeys there are? Could it have been a spurious transmission? Absolutely.”

Furthermore, Hoffman said radio signals have a way of traveling long distances in that area. “Under certain weather conditions I could hear Bahrain from the Strait of Hormuz.”

Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon, could not say if the voice belonged to the heckler.

“It’s an international circuit and we’ve said all along there were other ships and shore stations in the area,” he said.

When asked if U.S. officials considered whether the threats came from someone besides the Iranians when releasing the video and audio, Roughead said: “The reason there is audio superimposed over the video is it gives you a better idea of what is happening.”

Similarly, Davis said the audio was part of the “totality” of the situation and helped show the “aggressive behavior.”

Another former cruiser skipper said he thought the Monkey might be behind the audio threats when he first heard them earlier this week.

“It wouldn’t have surprised me at all,” he said. “There’s all kinds of chatter on Channel 16. Anybody with a receiver and transmitter can hear something’s going on. It was entirely plausible and consistent with the radio environment to interject themselves and make a threatening comment and think they’re being funny.”

This former skipper also noted how quiet and clean the radio “threat” was, especially when radio calls from small boats in the chop are noisy and cluttered.

“It’s a tough environment, you’re bouncing around, moving fast, lots of wind, noise. It’s not a serene environment,” he said. “That sounded like somebody on the beach or a large ship going by.”

He said he and others believe that the Filipino Monkey is comprised of several people, and whoever gets on Channel 16 to heckle instantly gets the monicker.

“It was just a gut feeling, something the merchants did. Guys would get bored, one guy hears it, comes back a year later and does it for himself,” he said. “I never thought it was one, rather it was part of the woodwork.”

The former skipper noted that he warned his crew about hecklers when preparing to transit Hormuz. “I tell them they’ll hear things on there that will be insulting,” he said. “You tell your people that you’ll hear things that are strange, insulting, aggravating, but you need to maintain a professional posture.”

A civilian mariner with experience in that region said the Filipino Monkey phenomenon is worldwide, and has been going on for years.

“They come on and say ‘Filipino Monkey’ in a strange voice. They might say it two or three times. You’re standing watch on bridge and you’re monitoring Channel 16 and all of a sudden it comes over the radio. It can happen anytime. It’s been a joke out there for years.”

While it happens all over the world, it’s more likely to occur around the Strait of Hormuz because there is so much shipping traffic, he said.

Speaking of those dem spooks making da spooky press releases: Double Agent Gadahn Threatens Bush In Neo-Con Stunt claiming that some random Jewish kid from California who's now the Al Qaeda spokesman du jour is really a fake. Either way he makes a pretty boring YouTube mastermind of doom etc. Lacks the chutzpah we expect from TV-based evildoers nowadays:

Fear Adam Gadahn!!!! Unless the TV never shows you, because you are not entertainingly scary enough!!

Another one of those attempted Ron Paul racism smear thingys: Vicious Ron Paul Hit Piece Scrapes The Barrel Of Yellow Journalism. On the other hand it confirms that Ron Paul is the kind of guy who showed up to random neo-confederate events in the old days. But what did you expect? The man was part of the great White fringe since forever... At least he's telling 'em to get against the Empire, i say... On the other hand NAACP: NAACP President: Ron Paul Is Not A Racist - "Linder says Paul being smeared because he is a threat to the establishment." Hmm....

We have just gotten back to Mpls in the wee hours. The Iowa trip was an interesting one.... the situation strange. The people, cold. The media, not coming back soon.

Massive rallies, cold scenes, media people. Pols. Really eager staffers. Security theater from Clinton's henchmen.

The plan to send out videos from the road fell apart. We got one out from the cafe, but we've had problems with the video formats and want to clean them up first.

We have seen all of the Dem candidates except Gravel and Kucinich and i think we have some level of video of each.

We used the latest in underpowered pocket video systems to record everything insane we could. This really freed up creative opportunities to place visual artifacts over everything and everyone.

After we sleep off the driving, there will be much furious video productions for the Interwebs! Our Ron Paul War on Drugs video has already passed 1200 viewers in 12 hours!!

We went demanding nothing (some of us). We achieved everything!

A kind of Zen.