Bush was warned about New Orleans levee break

On September 1, 2005, George W. Bush said, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees. They did appreciate a serious storm but these levees got breached and as a result much of New Orleans is flooded and now we're having to deal with it and will."

He was lying. He was specifically warned in no uncertain terms of this possibility, in advance. And the videotaped proof has now been made public:

In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, risk lives in New Orleans' Superdome and overwhelm rescuers, according to confidential video footage of the briefings.

Bush didn't ask a single question during the final government-wide briefing the day before Katrina struck on Aug. 29 but assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: "We are fully prepared."

... the video and transcripts show federal and local officials discussed threats clearly, reviewed long-made plans and understood Katrina would wreak devastation of historic proportions. "I'm sure it will be the top 10 or 15 when all is said and done," National Hurricane Center's Max Mayfield warned the day Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast.

Via Talking Points Memo.

UPDATE (March 5, 2006):

Associated Press has issued this "clarification":

WASHINGTON - In a March 1 story, The Associated Press reported that federal disaster officials warned President George W. Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees in New Orleans, citing confidential video footage of an Aug. 28 briefing among U.S. officials.

The Army Corps of Engineers considers a breach a hole developing in a levee rather than an overrun. The story should have made clear that Bush was warned about flood waters overrunning the levees, rather than the levees breaking.

The day before the storm hit, Bush was told there were grave concerns that the levees could be overrun. It wasn't until the next morning, as the storm was hitting, that Michael Brown, then head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Bush had inquired about reports of breaches. Bush did not participate in that briefing.

Illicit wiretapping of Greek politicians was done through legitimate code

Bruce Schneier reports on the technical details of how about 100 Greek politicians and offices, including the U.S. Embassy in Athens and the Greek prime minister, were illictly tapped. What was originally referred to as "malicious code" turned out to be eavesdropping code in Vodafone's mobile phone software that was present for law enforcement interception. The same kind of code is present in U.S. phone switches as required by CALEA. As Schneier points out, "when you build surveillance mechanisms into communication systems, you invite the bad guys to use those mechanisms for their own purposes."

Internet Gambling Prohibition Act allows court-ordered removal of links to violators

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) has proposed a bill, the "Internet Gambling Prohibition Act," to make Internet gambling illegal. The provisions of this act do not require online providers to monitor for violations, but do require them to take action after a court grants an injunction. When the online provider is not directly providing the online gambling service, but a customer is providing it or using it, the online provider is required to remove or disable access to the provider of the gambling service, or remove any hypertext links from its servers to providers of such service, if those links are on servers it controls.

So if Google, for example, has advertising links to an online gambling site that was prosecuted under this law, the judge would be able to order Google to remove all links to that site.

A special screening of "Bob Smith, USA"

ASU's Secular Devils are sponsoring two showings this weekend of Neil Abramson's documentary, "Bob Smith, USA":

Bob Smith, USA is a hilarious documentary film that provides a view into American culture through the eyes of seven men named Bob Smith. One of the seven Bob Smiths will be attending the screenings and will discuss the film afterwards.

The filmmakers traveled across the United States documenting the lives of the Bob Smiths. Despite their common names, the men vary greatly - from septic tank repairman to yoga instructor; from twenty eight to eighty-eight years old; from Evangelical Christian to Evangelical Atheist. As each man's story unfolds in their own words, intimate portraits are drawn; creating a poetic, non-judgmental and highly entertaining document of American life.

The showings are on Friday, March 3 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, March 4 at 2 p.m. in ASU's Life Sciences building, room 191. (Map here.) The screenings are free and open to the public, and there will be a party for Bob Smith on Saturday night, details to be provided at both showings.

Since the Secular Devils' event page says that "Normal Bob Smith and his Unholy Army of Catholic School Girls invade downtown Tempe" following the Friday night screening, it's a safe bet that the Bob Smith who will be appearing to discuss the film is Normal Bob Smith, who has some entertaining games and pamphlets on his website.

UPDATE (March 28, 2007): Normal Bob Smith's ASU visit happened to coincide with a Brother Jed preaching tour...

Specioprin Hydrochloride

If the online trailer is any guide, then Special looks like it will be a pretty good--though cringe-inducing--film. I can't find a release date anywhere, though.

UPDATE by Jim Lippard (August 2, 2009): Looks like it never saw theatrical release, but I just watched it on Netflix-on-Demand via TiVo HD. It was pretty good--not fantastic, and indeed occasionally cringe-inducing, but far better than many films that make it to the theaters.

Those who stand up against torture

Jane Mayer has written a moving article in The New Yorker about how Albert J. Mora, former general counsel of the U.S. Navy and David Brant, former head of the Naval Criminal Investigation Service, took a stand against torture and cruelty in interrogations at Guantanamo Bay, but were mostly thwarted by "a small group of lawyers closely aligned with Vice President Cheney"--Cheney's chief of staff David Addington, Department of Defense General Counsel William J. Haynes II, Air Force General Counsel Mary Walker, and John Yoo.

A scientist walks into a bar...

A scientist walks into a bar. More than 100 people are there, eager to hear all that she has to say and ask a lot of questions. No joke.

That's what happens at the Wynkoop Brewing Company here every month when Cafe Scientifique is held.

More at News.com. Here's a strategy Randy Olsen might like...

UPDATE: The international website for Cafe Scientifique is here. There's not one here in Phoenix yet; the closest is in San Diego, which apparently broadcasts live on the Internet.

Real political reform

Matt McIntosh has an interesting article on how, if we want different results from our political institutions, we need to change the institutions, not just the players and which party is in power. Requiring spending items to be unbundled and holding individual Congressmen responsible for each item and term limits are two specific suggestions. (Via Catallarchy.)

Malkin on the ports and CFIUS

Michelle Malkin argues that the CFIUS process is a "rubber stamp" and complains about the fact that financing for the Dubai Ports World acquisition of P&O was underwritten by Barclay's and Dubai Islamic Bank, which were "both cited as probable conduits for bin Laden money."

This latter point, at least with regard to Barclay's, is about as meaningful as claiming that Verizon Wireless is linked to terrorism because a terrorist used a Verizon Wireless phone, and arguing on that basis that Verizon should not be allowed to conduct business in the United States. Barclay's is a global banking and investment company headquartered in London's Docklands, operating the fourth largest bank in the UK.

On the former point, the CFIUS investigation I am most familiar with involved a fairly extensive review, the rejection of one potential acquirer (the application was withdrawn and resubmitted without that acquirer, so doesn't count as a CFIUS rejection), and the implementation of significant and ongoing security restrictions and review prior to approval. It wasn't a rubber stamp, though it did seem clear that most of the government agencies involved were pretty clueless about the technical details (with the exception of the representatives from the NSA and some from the DOD, who were very sharp), and the government ended up outsourcing most of the ongoing oversight of the deal to a D.C.-area private contractor after the acquisition was completed.

Trying to file a complaint against a police officer in South Florida

This is an eye-opening hidden camera investigation showing South Florida police officers' completely inappropriate responses to requests for a complaint form. They clearly do not see their role as "to protect and to serve" the general public. Again and again, the response is "you've gotta go through me first," followed by accusations that the person requesting the form is being unreasonable by not wanting to discuss the issue with the front-line officer, and occasionally graduating to threats, insults, or demands to leave. Tallahassee PD, at the beginning, shows the right way to handle the process. (Via The Agitator.)