[Quote]:

On Tuesday, February 15th Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a speech on the importance of Freedom of Speech in the Internet age. She focused her attention on foreign countries and chided them for curtailing the speech of their citizens.

During that speech Ray McGovern, a veteran who also served for 27 years as a CIA analyst, exercised his freedom of speech by standing and silently turning his back on Secretary Clinton. He was protesting the ongoing wars, the treatment of Bradley Manning and the militarism of U.S. foreign policy. He did not shout at the Secretary of State or interrupt her speech. He merely stood in silence. See the video here of the incident: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-Vy8fFnz18

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SAN FRANCISCO — A raging debate over new legislation, and its impact on the Internet, has tongues wagging and fingers pointing from Silicon Valley to Washington, D.C.

Just as the Egyptian government recently forced the Internet to go dark, U.S. officials could flip the switch if the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset legislation becomes law, say its critics.

Proponents of the bill, which is expected to be reintroduced in the current session of Congress, dismiss the detractors as ill-informed — even naive.

The ominously nicknamed Kill Switch bill is sure to be a flashpoint of discussion at the RSA Conference, the nation’s largest gathering of computer-security experts that takes place here this week.

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Over drinks at a bar on a dreary, snowy night in Washington this past month, a former Senate investigator laughed as he polished off his beer.

"Everything’s fucked up, and nobody goes to jail," he said. "That’s your whole story right there. Hell, you don’t even have to write the rest of it. Just write that."

I put down my notebook. "Just that?"

"That’s right," he said, signaling to the waitress for the check. "Everything’s fucked up, and nobody goes to jail. You can end the piece right there."

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The United States’ reliance on coal to generate almost half of its electricity, costs the economy about $345 billion a year in hidden expenses not borne by miners or utilities, including health problems in mining communities and pollution around power plants, a study found.

Those costs would effectively triple the price of electricity produced by coal-fired plants, which are prevalent in part due to the their low cost of operation, the study led by a Harvard University researcher found.

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Two TSA agents were busted today at Kennedy Airport for stealing $160,000 in cash from bags, authorities said.

Davon Webb, 30, and Couman Perad, who turned 36 today, were arrested after admitting they had regularly stolen from checked bags, sources said.

Feel safer yet?

[Quote]:

The premier annual event for dog breeders, dog lovers, and fans of photographs of puffed-out pooches has just come to an end. The Westminster Dog Show attracts some 2,500 dogs from around the nation to two days of pomp and preening before sold-out audiences at Madison Square Garden in New York City and a television audience around the world. Each dog’s complete name includes the prefix "Ch" — for champion, since each purebred entrant has already been a winner somewhere. The dogs are judged by groups, including Hound, Toy, Non-Sporting, Herding Sporting, Working, and Terrier. The top dog is selected in the final contest: "Best in Show.” Six new breeds were included this year among the 179 eligible: Boykin spaniel, bluetick coonhound, redbone coonhound, cane corso, Leonberger, and Icelandic sheepdog. The show, which started in 1877, is second only to the Kentucky Derby as the longest continuously held sporting event in America. — Lloyd Young (34 photos total)

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Jackson, an American Cocker Spaniel, in the grooming area before judging of his breed. (Mike Segar/Reuters) #