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So This Dick in a Pickup Pulls Out in Front of Me And ..
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Council for Responsible Genetics
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“I’m worried that it will scar my record for life. It might come up if I went for jobs, such as with children — not that I’ve been in trouble, but just that I’m known to the police.? These are the words of Caitlin Bristow, aged fifteen, who was arrested in England in 2005 and had her DNA and fingerprints recorded. She had reported an assault and a counter-claim had been made against her, but she was never charged, let alone convicted, of any offense.
Likewise, Ashley Martins, aged twelve, was arrested on suspicion of stealing a mobile phone but was never charged with any offense. His worried mother complained to the police about the permanent retention of his DNA — children who are arrested in England and Wales are now routinely swabbed, without consent, from the age of ten. Detective Constable Andy Gill, of Hounslow police, was reported as saying, “In the case of Ashley Martins we acted within the established protocol. At the age of ten, children should know the difference between right and wrong and we will take DNA from anyone we bring in.?
Student David Atkinson has fared slightly better — after a six-month battle he has finally had records of his DNA and fingerprints destroyed at the discretion of the police force that arrested him, though he no longer has a legal right to their destruction under English law. In 2005, David was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. His DNA and fingerprints were taken but he was never charged because someone else confessed to the offense. Subsequently, he was accused of the theft of some Christmas cards that had been stolen and recovered by the police. David was not the thief — in fact, his fingerprints and DNA were on the Christmas cards because he was the person who had mailed them to relatives five years before. He told his local newspaper: “I wasn’t against the laws previously but when you become a victim of it, it changes your mind. I won’t trust the police again. I will still send Christmas cards by post — I’ll just have to put rubber gloves on in future”.
Guantanamo Bay’s Freed Detainees
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It was just last September that George W. Bush said of the many enemy combatants we’ve detained since September 11th changed everything:
It’s important for Americans and others across the world to understand the kind of people held at Guantanamo. These aren’t common criminals, or bystanders accidentally swept up on the battlefield — we have in place a rigorous process to ensure those held at Guantanamo Bay belong at Guantanamo. Those held at Guantanamo include suspected bomb makers, terrorist trainers, recruiters and facilitators, and potential suicide bombers. They are in our custody so they cannot murder our people. One detainee held at Guantanamo told a questioner questioning him — he said this: “I’ll never forget your face. I will kill you, your brothers, your mother, and sisters.”
And today we learn the results of an AP investigation into what happened to the 360 or so former detainees who were returned to their home countries. For example:
- Once the detainees arrived in other countries, 205 of the 245 were either freed without being charged or were cleared of charges related to their detention at Guantanamo. Forty either stand charged with crimes or continue to be detained.
- The Afghan government has freed every one of the more than 83 Afghans sent home. Lawmaker Sibghatullah Mujaddedi, the head of Afghanistan’s reconciliation commission, said many were innocent and wound up at Guantanamo because of tribal or personal rivalries.
- At least 67 of 70 repatriated Pakistanis are free after spending a year in Adiala Jail. A senior Pakistani Interior Ministry official said investigators determined that most had been “sold” for bounties to U.S. forces by Afghan warlords who invented links between the men and al-Qaida.
- All 29 detainees who were repatriated to Britain, Spain, Germany, Russia, Australia, Turkey, Denmark, Bahrain and the Maldives were freed, some within hours after being sent home for “continued detention.”
One can only assume that the rigorous process Bush spoke of was the same one used to judge pre-war intelligence. Said one man who was held for three years at Guantanamo Bay:
I can’t wash the three long years of pain, trouble and humiliation from my memory. It is like a cancer in my mind that makes me disturbed every time I think of those terrible days.
If they didn’t want to kill our brothers, mothers and sisters before, they probably do now.
In the army
Married In London
Thanks JJ
A book will never let you down
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Why cell phone outage reports are secret
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Consumers have no idea how reliable their cell phone service will be when they buy a phone and sign a long-term contract. The Federal Communications Commission could offer some guidance, but it won’t. The agency refuses to make public a detailed database of cell phone provider outages that it has maintained since 2004.
A federal Freedom of Information Act request for the data, filed in August by MSNBC.com, has been rejected by the agency. The stated reasons: Release of the information could help terrorists plan attacks against the United States, and it would harm the companies involved.
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What use would wireless outage reports have to would-be terrorists? Not much, said NBC terrorism analyst Roger Cressey, the former chief of staff of the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board.
“There is nothing mysterious behind it, it is corporate competition protection,? said Cressey, now a partner in Good Harbor Consulting. “The only reason for the government to not let these records get out is then one telco provider could run a full-page ad saying ‘the government says we’re more reliable.’?
Or one of the telco’s who where low on the list had a “lobbyist” approach key FCC personnel with “an offer”.
But it clearly demonstrates “national security risks” and “risks to corporate profit” are the same thing these days.
Right
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
Voltaire (1694 - 1778)
I’d guess that it demonstrates that companies are savvy to ask for favors in return for cooperation with anti-terrorism measures. Sure, we’ll give you wiretap and call record access. By the way, could we talk about keeping uptime reporting confidential?