statism watch

… even if it does violate child porn laws. But who needs laws anyways, when you’re the government? Laws can be changed with the stroke of a pen, or ignored (as in the case of the US Constitution). But don’t worry, they have special agents that are trusted to look at naked images of your kids, you see. And your kids need to be conditioned to accept growing up in an authoritarian police state, anyways.

Flashback: UK Airport worker warned over harassment using naked body scanner | Body scans eventually mandatory, TSA official says | 11 More U.S. Airports Get Body Scanners | Exposed: Naked Body Scanner Images Of Film Star Printed, Circulated By Airport Staff | Radiation Safety Group Says Naked Body Scanners Increase Risk Of Cancer | UK: Airline passengers have ‘no right’ to refuse naked body scanners | Full-body scanner blind to bomb parts | Airport scanner companies queue for business after ‘underpants bomber’ | German ‘Fleshmob’ Protests Airport Scanners | Body scanners capable of storing, sending images, group says | Dutch police develop mobile body scans | Whole-body airport scanners are basically safe–or are they? | Airport security starts in the parking lot | Body scanners coming to Canadian airports | UK: New scanners break child porn laws | US implements travel profiling: Tougher air screening for ’security-risk’ countries | UK: Full-body scanners being ordered for airports, says Gordon Brown | Group slams Chertoff on conflict of interest in scanner promotion | The ‘Israelification’ of airports: High security, little bother | Underwear Bomber Renews Calls for ‘Naked Scanners’ | Federal Privacy Commissioner raises alarm over terror security measures | Privacy watchdog OKs ‘naked’ airport scanners | Security may soon test ‘virtual strip search’ at large Canadian aiports | US Border Guards to Expand Use of X-Ray Body Scanners | Homeland Security seeks Bladerunner-style lie detector | Greyhound introduces security screening of passengers, bans fruit, carry-ons | Germany rejects full-body scans at airports | Interpol wants facial recognition database to catch suspects | ‘Pre-crime’ detector shows promise | Eye scans, fingerprints to control NZ borders | Air passengers to undergo ‘virtual strip search’ | US Homeland Security Keen on ‘Novel’ Israeli Airport Security Technology | Israel startup uses behavioral science to identify terrorists | Airport scanner a ‘virtual strip search’

BBC News
March 29, 2010

Children selected to walk through the full body scanners at airports must do so, the transport secretary has said.

Lord Adonis, announcing a consultation on a code of conduct for the scanners, said to exclude children risked undermining the security measures.

Civil rights groups had raised concerns that the resulting images would breach child pornography laws.

The scanners are being introduced after a failed attempt to blow up a plane in the US in December.

The government’s code of practice on the scanners said airport security staff had all been vetted, including a check of criminal and security service records.

‘Sensitive’ staff

They had also been trained in aviation security and “customer service” to carry out their jobs “in a sensitive and proportionate manner.”

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‘Weapons of Mass Destruction?’ Really. Apparently pipe bombs (alleged pipe bombs) are now in the same rank as nuclear devices. Events continue to unfold. Don’t expect the full story to come out until this has fallen out of the national spotlight. Remember how the big Toronto 18 ‘terror’ (entrapment) bust went down? Police informants got the kids to talk on wiretap about what they wanted to do or might do in hypothetical situations, set up and ran a winter paintball ‘training camp’ in order to gather exciting video proof that they were serious, suggested plots and how to build bombs, set up deliveries of the required materiel, and there like magic, you have ‘domestic terror’. Then the media runs around fanning the flames of fear and xenophobia wondering, oh how could this come to pass? How could it happen here? This is probably a similar situation – wherein you set up some weak-minded individuals and convince them they want to go do some crimes.

Flashback: FBI raids in Washtenaw, Lenawee counties tied to Michigan militia group | DHS Video Portrays Average Americans As Terrorists | US Police to get access to classified military intelligence | US Homeland Security: Terror fight needs public’s vigilance | DoD Training Manual Describes Protest As “Low-Level Terrorism” | UK schoolkids trained to inform on ‘extremist’ classmates by police DVD | ‘AmeriCorps’ Domestic Paramilitary Propaganda Ad | Scouts Train to Fight Terrorists, and More | Secret Homeland Security Threat Assessment Labels Gun Owners Potential Terrorists | UK Home Secretary unveils civilian anti-terrorism security force | US Urban Warfare Drills Linked To Coming Economic Rage | Army ‘Strategic Shock’ Report Says Troops May Be Needed To Quell U.S. Civil Unrest | US Counterinsurgency Manual Leaked, Calls for False Flag Operations, Suspension of Human Rights | ‘Lone wolf’ terror threat on rise, report warns | US Experts Can’t Agree on Whether ‘Al-Qaeda’ Poses a Threat, Look to ‘Leaderless Jihad’ in America | Fascist America, in 10 easy steps

Lee Higgins, Ann Arbor.com
March 29, 2010

A local militia group that twice helped Washtenaw County sheriff’s deputies search for missing people had discussed killing a law enforcement officer, then attacking officers who attended the funeral, a federal indictment alleges.

Instead, militia members say the Hutaree militia group was raided Saturday night by federal law enforcement agents during a memorial service in the Ann Arbor area for one of its members.

Asked about that particular raid, FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said this afternoon, “I can’t confirm or deny the events of the arrests.” Berchtold said five arrests were made in the Washtenaw/Lenawee county area.

Nine members of Hutaree – described by authorities as an anti-government extremist organization – have been indicted on charges of attempting to use weapons of mass destruction. All are in custody.

At least one member charged lives in Washtenaw County. Hutaree members, who trained in Lenawee County, where the group has a small headquarters, “conspired to levy war against the United States,” the indictment says.

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It’s worth reiterating, as always, that this is a state-managed trade agreement that is presently being negotiated – which has nothing to do with free trade.

Related: CETA worse than ACTA — EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | Beyond ACTA: Proposed EU — Canada Trade Agreement Intellectual Property Chapter Leaks | EU approves free-trade talks with Canada | Canada expects EU free-trade talks soon: Stockwell Day | Harper, Sarkozy vow to work toward Canada-EU deal | CD Howe Institute backs Canada-EU deal, deep integration | Towards a new world order: Canada-EU trade proposal rivals scope of NAFTA

Dana Gabriel, BeYourOwnLeaderBlogspot.com
March 29, 2010

Although there is a need for Canada to expand its trade horizons, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) currently being negotiated with the European Union (EU) appears to be based on the flawed NAFTA model. Many view it as an opportunity to decrease its trade reliance on the U.S., but it could serve to accelerate the corporate takeover of the country. The deal would exceed NAFTA in its scope and with the third round of negotiations scheduled for April 19-23 in Ottawa, there are lingering concerns regarding its lack of transparency. A Canada-EU CETA could be used to expand NAFTA, strengthen U.S.-EU economic relations and further advance the transatlantic agenda.

Some believe that the recent Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement is an important step in providing protection for future bilateral trade relations, but in the process it opens up provincial and municipal contracts to foreign corporations. Maude Barlow and Stuart Trew of the Council of Canadians criticized the Conservative government for giving up too much and receiving too little. In an collaborative article they emphasized that, “The provinces have been loath to sign the WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement and did not agree to include subnational procurement in NAFTA because they could lose too much say in how public money is spent without getting any new access to the U.S. market..” They went on to say, “We believe the Buy American controversy provided Harper and the provinces, who are actively engaged in ambitious free-trade talks with Europe, with an opportunity to restructure the Canadian economy to reduce the role of our communities in setting spending priorities.” As part of the proposed CETA with Canada, one of the EU’s top objectives includes gaining access to procurement and services in areas of health, energy, water, as well as other sectors. The Canada-U.S. Buy American deal is an extension of NAFTA and has set a precedent which could further reinforce EU demands.

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How about “no” and “get stuffed” as two potential approaches to answering the question? See also the thread on ACTA here.

Related: Beyond ACTA: Proposed EU — Canada Trade Agreement Intellectual Property Chapter Leaks | EU approves free-trade talks with Canada | Canada expects EU free-trade talks soon: Stockwell Day | Harper, Sarkozy vow to work toward Canada-EU deal | CD Howe Institute backs Canada-EU deal, deep integration | Towards a new world order: Canada-EU trade proposal rivals scope of NAFTA

Michael Geist, MichaelGeist.ca
March 29, 2010

Late last year, a draft of the European Union proposal for the intellectual property chapter of the Canada – EU Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement leaked online. The leak revealed that the EU was seeking some significant changes to Canadian IP laws. Negotiations have continued and I have now received an updated copy of the draft chapter, complete with proposals from both the EU and Canada. The breadth of the demands are stunning – the EU is demanding nothing less than a complete overhaul of Canadian IP laws including copyright, trademark, databases, patent, geographic indications, and even plant variety rights.

While there are some Canadian requests – for example, Canada plays Hollywood North by asking the EU to introduce an anti-camcording provision – virtually all the changes would require Canadian reforms. In fact, while the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement garners the bulk of the attention, CETA would actually involve far more domestic change. In some sections, the EU simply takes its own directives and incorporates them into the treaty. For example, provisions on the liability of ISPs is taken directly from EU law, including the use of terms such as “information society service” – something that is defined under EU law but is meaningless in Canada.

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As though there’s any question that this hand was overplayed. Considering that the definition of a pandemic was changed especially so that H1N1 could be classified as a pandemic. They’re been saying they’re going to investigate themselves since January, incidentally. This is akin to the lame duck ongoing Climategate investigation… get enough key people in to do the ‘investigation’, drag it out long enough in the bureaucracy and the story will eventually disappears off the radar when this kind of money’s involved.

Flashback: EU Council Health Chair: Swine Flu Pandemic Was A Hoax | WHO to examine its H1N1 response | Flu Inc.: How vaccines became big business | Swine flu pandemic ‘less lethal than expected’ | Dr. Richard Schabas — How they larded H1N1 facts with fear | H1N1 overplayed by media, public health: MDs | Elite Council Recording Suggests Creating False Scarcity To Drive Up Demand For H1N1 Vaccine | WHO pandemic definition too broad, doctor contends | Flu Season Has Already Peaked in US, Little Benefit to H1N1 Jab: Study | GlaxoSmithKline profit rises on flu drug | UK: National Health Service frontline staff shun H1N1 vaccine | Swine flu death rate similar to seasonal flu: expert | Swine flu unlikely to become superbug | UK Government Swine Flu Advisor On Vaccine Maker Payroll | Swine flu: How scared should we be? | Top Epidemiologist Slams Swine Flu Fearmongering | Lessons of 1976: swine flu, fear, mass vaccinations, wasted millions

The Associated Press
March 29, 2010

A group of outside experts will scrutinize the World Health Organization’s response to the swine flu outbreak and will likely examine whether the term “pandemic” was appropriate for what turned out to be a mild disease, the World Health Organization said Monday.

The review starting later this month will be conducted by around 30 scientists and public health officials, and their initial findings will be presented to member states by WHO director general Margaret Chan in May [Ed Note: 2011, it says later in the article], a senior official told reporters in Geneva.

“The assessment itself is going to address many of the questions which are being raised now,” said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO’s top flu official.

WHO’s pandemic alert scale, or “phases,” and the role that disease severity plays in the global body’s assessment of an outbreak are likely to be among the “critical issues” the group will examine, he said.

WHO defines a pandemic as a worldwide spread of a new disease.

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