Anil Gangolli

District Court curbs FBI secret probe power

Recent revisions of the Patriot Act have given the FBI power not only to force communication companies including phone companies and ISPs to turn over records without a warrant or any court authorization, but also to be able to force the companies not to tell anyone, customers or others, that they had revealed the information.

A district court judge has ruled that this violates the First Amendment and separation of powers, but is delaying enforcing the decision pending appeal.

From this New York Times article

Tagged:  fbi freedom justice

Posted at 07:19PM Sep 06, 2007 in dogma  |  Permalink

Restoring habeas corpus

At last, the Fourth District Court of Appeals has ruled that the government can‘t continue to hold people under military detention indefinitely without right of habeas corpus simply by calling them “enemy combatants”.

It was a 2–1 decision and it‘s likely to go up to the Supreme Court. Let‘s hope it holds.

Tagged:  freedom justice

Posted at 02:37PM Jun 11, 2007 in dogma  |  Permalink

Taking the high (profit) road

It is not often that taking the high road and taking the high profit road coincide, but Steve Jobs has found one of them in his recent letter (Thoughts on Music, February 6, 2007) in which he advocates for DRM-free content.

This is a win-win all around.

It‘s pretty clear why it is in the consumer‘s interest, well, at least to the savvy consumers anyway.

The Jobs letter makes no attempt to hide why such a position is in Apple‘s interest, and how maintaining the FairPlay DRM system they have now is so onerous and not readily opened up for wider use (if any other digital download-based retailers would actually want to adopt it anyway). Not evident from the letter is Apple‘s motivation from the rise of competing DRM-free distribution services like eMusic, but that‘s ok, because these competitors would also benefit from greater selection in a DRM-free environment.

So now it is just a (simple) matter of convincing the music companies.
What‘s in it for them?

• Lowering distribution costs and allowing more uniform distribution mechanisms without individual unit license management.
• Not alienating the large honest part of the population that‘s going to buy (not steal) their music in the first place
• Huge potential volume growth (at the aforementioned fraction of their current distribution costs).

Will they get it? Probably not. Not until consumers like us and digital distribution channels like Apple and eMusic unify to pound it into their heads. Apple‘s position statement is a step in the right direction.

Posted at 11:45AM Feb 11, 2007 in dogma  |  Permalink  |  Comments[1]

No evidence of care or restraint

The New York Times reports (via news agencies) the latest Israeli airstrike in Southern Lebanon to have killed 54 including 37 children while the US urges care.

It sounds at last, however, like the US is going to push for a U.N. Security Council resolution to halt the fighting. It‘s way past time.

Tags: Israel Lebanon

Posted at 09:06AM Jul 30, 2006 in dogma  |  Permalink  |  Comments[1]

Totten on Latest Mideast Crisis

Michael J. Totten effectively expresses sentiments and analysis I agree with in this post which I found via Tim Bray's entry.

Posted at 06:26PM Jul 16, 2006 in dogma  |  Permalink

Quick Commentary on Recent Events

A few minutes to catch up on more than a month‘s worth of blogging. Sigh. Well, it looks like it hasn‘t been a very good month or so for the world.

• Palestinians choose Hamas and thereby the way of the gun, all by vote. What a disappointment for supporters of peace and of democracy. Where are they all by the way? I looked up Hanan Ashrawi, the voice of reason I remembered from years ago, to see where she was now. This is what I found. Why don‘t we hear more about them?
  

• Iraqi civil war. Sunis vs. Shiites. I really don‘t understand these interreligious/interracial disputes between people with so much in common that almost nobody else can tell them apart. Hutus and Tootsis. I‘m not sure how sad Bush is about it though, as it distracts from issues he‘s responsible for.
  

• Riots and violence over cartoons. To me, mostly an indication that a lot of people who probably would never have seen the cartoon can get riled into a frenzy by a few manipulative hateful ones. Another scary reading on the democracy thermometer in the Middle East.
  

• New Abu Ghraib photos. Bad timing for this new news of old wrongs. How can we be champions of democracy when this stuff goes on under our aegis. Oh yeah, past tense, past tense. Right.
  

• Guantanamo documents released under FOIA suit. Not quite the list of detainees. Not nearly habeas corpus. Still not clear who and how many innocents were corralled in with the actual combatants. We Americans, grand champions of rights, still largely silent. Damned shame.

Posted at 08:43AM Mar 09, 2006 in dogma  |  Permalink

Executive Power Grab

According to the press, the Justice Department has released a “white paper” rationalizing the Administration‘s wiretap operations against citizens within the U.S. without warrants required for such surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

I‘ve been unable to find a copy of the actual paper at the DOJ site. If anyone finds a link, please let me know.

The New York Times describes the white paper as stating:

Some presidential powers, particularly in the area of national security, are simply “beyond Congress‘ ability to regulate,” it said.

Wrong. Certainly with these powers, and probably in general. I really hope that the authors will be strongly corrected both by Congress and the Supreme Court.

Technorati tags: Liberty U.S. Constitution Bush Administration FISA Domestic Wiretap Scandal NSA Executive Powers

Posted at 07:52AM Jan 20, 2006 in dogma  |  Permalink

Google fights Bush administration attack on user privacy

The Bush Administration is again intent on grossly violating individual privacy rights in its attempt to subpoena samplings of Google search logs to look for pornography-related searches. AOL, MSN, and Yahoo are also targets of similar subpoenas.

MSN appears already to have buckled.

UPDATE: AOL, MSN and Yahoo all buckled.

Technorati tags: Privacy Liberty Google MSN Bush Administration

Posted at 11:54AM Jan 19, 2006 in dogma  |  Permalink  |  Comments[1]

Heroes

I‘m observing Martin Luther King‘s Birthday tomorrow in remembrance and celebration of King and of the many heroes, sung and unsung, of the Civil Rights movement. I am also observing it to symbolize that the movement is not dead.

For a while it seemed that companies were adding this to their standard holiday calendars, but a lot of companies these days (including, sadly, my present employer), seem to have dropped it from their standard holiday list. Subtract one point for not recognizing the very diversity on which they now rely; subtract two points for not recognizing who and what even made that possible.

There are heroes whose contributions affect us indirectly and heroes that affect us directly and tangibly. If I look at everything I have had in my lifetime, in opportunities and access, options — real freedom, and if I compare that to what my situation would have been only a few generations ago, and to what would almost certainly still be today without these people and their work, then it is practically inexcusable that I should not remember them and celebrate their work.

Thanks to my wife and my daughter for not letting me forget this.

So here‘s to you Dr. King and the many many others who stood and acted with you for me and for everyone.

Technorati tags: Civil Rights, Martin Luther King, freedom, Liberty

Posted at 10:10PM Jan 15, 2006 in dogma  |  Permalink  |  Comments[2]

Defending the indefensible

Back in March, I blogged about the US practice of dodging legitimate controls by outsourcing, particularly the practice of “rendition“ of suspects to countries for “interrogation“ applying “techniques” that could not be applied in the countries from which they were taken.

In Secretary of State Rice‘s recent visit to Europe, she‘s had to try, lamely, to defend this indefensible practice. This Washington Post editorial is right on the mark, pointing out the holes and half-truths in her statements.

The administration stands alone in defending this. Both Congress and the public recognize just how contrary to our own principles this is.

Related Reuters Article
Related via Google: CIA rendition

UPDATE: 12/15/2005

Bush gives in on the Torture Ban bill. A step in the right direction, but we‘ll have to wait to see how far.

Posted at 11:13PM Dec 05, 2005 in dogma  |  Permalink

Excessive destruction from above

Seymour Hersh (Up In the Air from the New Yorker ) discusses the shift to an air war that is likely to accompany the gradual pullout of troops from Iraq.

One alarming fact he brings up is that the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing alone “has dropped more than 500,000 tons of ordnance,“ which equates to something on the order of 500,000 to 2,000,000 bombs (each typically 1/4 to 1/2 ton) dropped. That sounds excessive because it is.

A “military planner” is quoted as characterizing the situation by saying

... there's no sense of an air campaign, or a strategic vision. We are just whacking targets ...

Related: Seymour Hersch Interviewed on NPR

Posted at 09:15AM Dec 05, 2005 in dogma  |  Permalink

Pombo bill

The new Pombo bill is yet another attempt to ravage the Endangered Species Act and open up lands to development and oil interests. Bad stuff. Oppose it.

Posted at 12:07AM Sep 21, 2005 in dogma  |  Permalink  |  Comments[2]

NY Times Editorial on Judith Miller's case

It‘s one of those cases where both sides are partly right, but I side with Ms. Miller due to the specifics. I really liked the analysis in the NY Times' own editorial. Here‘s an excerpt that is just spot on.

Mr. Fitzgerald‘s [the prosecutor‘s] attempts to interfere with the rights of a free press while refusing to disclose his reasons for doing so, when he can‘t even say whether a crime has been committed, have exhibited neither reverence nor cautious circumspection. It would compound the tragedy if his actions emboldened more prosecutors to trample on a free press.

What‘s striking is how Robert Novak, who originally broke the story, is not being pursued at all; it further bolsters the original suspicion that his source‘s leak was actually condoned if not instigated by the Administration as a retaliatory measure against Joe Wilson.

Technorati tags: liberty free press Judith Miller Valerie Plame Wilson Robert Novak first amendment

Posted at 10:40PM Jul 06, 2005 in dogma  |  Permalink  |  Comments[1]

Why Supreme Court upheaval now is scary

It is a good thing when partisan agendas in Supreme Court appointees are thwarted by responsible justices that adopt much more centrist views. Warren Burger (appointed to Chief Justice by Nixon after Earl Warren) and Sandra Day O‘Connor (appointed by Reagan) are two examples that come to mind, but I don‘t think it could be called a common occurrence.

The upheaval that will come with O‘Connor‘s somewhat unexpected early resignation, and with the expected retirements of Rehnquist and other judges nearing their eighties is scary. Why?

Well, in the last several decades, the Supreme Court seems to have been the only branch bold (or capable) enough to protect individuals in the minority from bigotries and insecurities of the majority. This is an important role, and it‘s always scary to trust someone new to participate in sustaining it.

What‘s particularly scary now is a kind of perfect storm of conditions that could result in some very serious losses of liberty. First, we seem in this country to be in a period of heightened bigotry, particularly of the religious sort. Second, the balance on the court has recently been sustained by one or two centrist/swing votes like O‘Connor‘s. Third, the Senate majority coincides with the President‘s party, and fourth, the current president seems particularly prone to appointing a crony.

Related (via Google): O'Connor resignation

Technorati: O'Connor Supreme Court liberty

Posted at 09:54AM Jul 02, 2005 in dogma  |  Permalink

Bill Moyers still a hero

Heard Bill Moyers‘ speak on journalism and public broadcasting on the radio today. It was a lecture recorded on the 15th, voicing in general his views on the responsibility of journalists and specifically his criticism of Ken Tomlinson‘s (Chairman of the Board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting) lack of spine in the face of political pressure. It also included an excerpt of his speech on Patriotism and the Flag. Direct and courageous. He‘s a hero. Retired, he claims.

Bill Moyers journalism Public Broadcasting

Posted at 09:56PM May 26, 2005 in dogma  |  Permalink