Court authorized wiretaps in the U.S. surged last year

Stop me before I f*ck again! (-- George Carlin)

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Cheers!
Rich
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 "A dreary young bank clerk named Fennis
  Wished to foster an aura of menace.
   To make people afraid
   He wore gloves of grey suede
  And white footgear intended for tennis."
     -- Edward Gorey, "Amphigorey"

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What\'s a haircut?

A famous New York Post (tabloid) one was "Headless Body Found in Topless Bar". Blame Rupert Murdoch.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

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So What - "they" let you lot off easy:

Having no doubt consulted in depth with their more experienced "partei-genossen" from the former STASI, the EU is indeed going forward with gay abandon* archiving the connection details of *ALL* telecommunication for seven years; in case the "The Proper Authorities" will ever need it.

All is not lost, though: the data-volume on the Internet is doubling just about every 6 months and the processing power needed to handle the flow only doubles every 18 months .... crunch! ....

"They" will Tax bits soon.

*) since this stupidity is coming from the very continent where they at one time had a field for "ethnicity" on tax filings and ballot papers so that one presumably could get preferential treatment in some minor way - but also about two decades later providing a solution to the German State's emerging problem of recognising the Jews!

Not to mention the flow of Oil Money to support all the Islamist schools around the planet; and that the worlds *need* for Oil will prevent any "sorting out the differences" that the Western Culture went trough after the Reformation, where various Religious wars decimated (at least) the population in Europe.

The Saudi Wahabbis are not liked at all amongst the Muslims - the Iranian Shiites have hated them ever since they took the other side at Karbala, adding more venom when the Wahhabis later ursurped the religious sites with weapons aquired from the West. Should the US leave, the score will be settled.

Maybe Democracy emerges when all the people willing to die for their particular cause have indeed done so ... and everybody else is fed up with the way things are.

I read in sci.electronics.design that Rich The Newsgroup Wacko wrote (in ) about 'Court authorized wiretaps in the U.S. surged last year', on Wed, 4 May 2005:

Reminds me of the ultimate 'red-top tabloid' (mass-circulation dumb newspaper) headline, 'Teenage sex-change priest in Palace baby mercy-dash'.

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There are two sides to every question, except
'What is a Moebius strip?'
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk

The highest proportion or heroin addicts seem to be in Iran, of all places. Harsh punishments there, but also heroin is well available there...

Thomas

Oh please. The General Welfare Clause doesn't even come close to enumerating powers of government which the masses have been hoodwinked into thinking it means (largely since FDR).

Madison made this clear in The Federalist #41 and also vetoed a bill for "internal improvments" when he was president. Things like federal involvement in schooling and social security are unconstitutional. So is prohibiting drug usage.

Basically the anti-federalists fears and reservations have become reality: Madison's language was not strong enough to inhibit today's tyrants. The powers of government are supposed to be very limited.

Excerpt from #41: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ... Some, who have not denied the necessity of the power of taxation, have grounded a very fierce attack against the Constitution, on the language in which it is defined. It has been urged and echoed, that the power "to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States," amounts to an unlimited commission to exercise every power which may be alleged to be necessary for the common defense or general welfare. No stronger proof could be given of the distress under which these writers labor for objections, than their stooping to such a misconstruction.

Had no other enumeration or definition of the powers of the Congress been found in the Constitution, than the general expressions just cited, the authors of the objection might have had some color for it; though it would have been difficult to find a reason for so awkward a form of describing an authority to legislate in all possible cases. A power to destroy the freedom of the press, the trial by jury, or even to regulate the course of descents, or the forms of conveyances, must be very singularly expressed by the terms "to raise money for the general welfare."

But what color can the objection have, when a specification of the objects alluded to by these general terms immediately follows, and is not even separated by a longer pause than a semicolon? If the different parts of the same instrument ought to be so expounded, as to give meaning to every part which will bear it, shall one part of the same sentence be excluded altogether from a share in the meaning; and shall the more doubtful and indefinite terms be retained in their full extent, and the clear and precise expressions be denied any signification whatsoever? For what purpose could the enumeration of particular powers be inserted, if these and all others were meant to be included in the preceding general power? Nothing is more natural nor common than first to use a general phrase, and then to explain and qualify it by a recital of particulars. But the idea of an enumeration of particulars which neither explain nor qualify the general meaning, and can have no other effect than to confound and mislead, is an absurdity, which, as we are reduced to the dilemma of charging either on the authors of the objection or on the authors of the Constitution, we must take the liberty of supposing, had not its origin with the latter.

The objection here is the more extraordinary, as it appears that the language used by the convention is a copy from the articles of Confederation. The objects of the Union among the States, as described in article third, are "their common defense, security of their liberties, and mutual and general welfare." The terms of article eighth are still more identical: "All charges of war and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defense or general welfare, and allowed by the United States in Congress, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury," etc. A similar language again occurs in article ninth. Construe either of these articles by the rules which would justify the construction put on the new Constitution, and they vest in the existing Congress a power to legislate in all cases whatsoever. But what would have been thought of that assembly, if, attaching themselves to these general expressions, and disregarding the specifications which ascertain and limit their import, they had exercised an unlimited power of providing for the common defense and general welfare? I appeal to the objectors themselves, whether they would in that case have employed the same reasoning in justification of Congress as they now make use of against the convention. How difficult it is for error to escape its own condemnation!

PUBLIUS. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking at the total number of deaths caused by alcohol, caused by tobacco, and caused by all illegal drugs combined, it looks like the US laws are totally backwards! Illegal drugs might as well be legalized, but tobacco and alcohol should be made illegal!

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In article , Ben Bradley wrote: [...]

More people die of cancer or heart disease.

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kensmith@rahul.net   forging knowledge

Actually, fewer die. Smoking causes both cancer and impotence, both of which reduce the birth rate.

John

If you look at the long term numbers, no more people die given tobacco smoking than if no-one smoked!!! It is just that people tend to die sooner. :-).

John

Geez! When I was 32, they were still checking my ID!

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Cheers!
Rich
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 "COCAINE: The thinking man\'s Dristan."

"N" got carded in a San Francisco "joint" when she was 31... she had already borne our fourth child. Made her day ;-)

...Jim Thompson

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|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
|  Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
|  Phoenix, Arizona            Voice:(480)460-2350  |             |
|  E-mail Address at Website     Fax:(480)460-2142  |  Brass Rat  |
|       http://www.analog-innovations.com           |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.      Sometimes I even put it in the food.

I last got carded at 40 (in Westwood, CA).

I was 32 when AARP started sending me their junk mail.

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Former professional electron wrangler.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

He can't bore others if he leaves.

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Former professional electron wrangler.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

I was carded about five years ago in NH. My gray/silver hair didn't matter much to the bimbette behind the counter at the quickie mart.

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  Keith

How many cancer deaths, caused by tobacco, are in the child bearing age? Incontinence I wouldn't know anythign about. ;-)

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  Keith