Yes, yes, OMG, YESSSS!!!!

FBI: Illinois Gov. Blagojevich Tried to Sell Obama's Senate Seat

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122883415161091395.html

CHICAGO -- Throwing a harsh spotlight on a city that has been celebrating the election of Barack Obama to the White House, federal agents on Tuesday arrested Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and a senior aide on broad corruption charges, including allegations they tried to sell Mr. Obama's Senate seat.
Mr. Blagojevich, a 51-year-old Democrat, and chief of staff John Harris, 46, are each charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.
Unveiling the federal indictment at a press conference, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said, "This is a sad day for Illinois government. Mr. Blagojevich has taken us to a new low."


Criminal Complaint filed (full text)
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/WSJ-20081209-blagojevichcomplaint.pdf

Обама и нац. безопасность

[Poll #1312322]

UPD. Судя по первому десятку ответов, мнение абсолютного большинства сходится на том, что интернет Обама не тронет. Ну, посмотрим (http://mkay422.livejournal.com/626716.html), дай-то бог, может, и не послушает.

Год-два назад "все" ругали Буша за то, что он, под флагом борьбы с терроризмом, ввел слежку, телефонное подслушивание, DHS, черные списки, унизил миллионы авиапассажиров, сняв с них обувь и отняв воду в бутылках. Дальнейшая "советизация" Штатов характеризовалась планом введения Нац. Ай-Ди.

Расскажите, пожалуйста, в комментариях, в чем, по-вашему заключалось наступление гос-ва на вашу свободу личности (if any) при Буше? Или - такового не было?
Какие вообще минусы-плюсы, по-вашему, имели место за последние 8 лет?
И - каких перемен вы ожидаете от нового президента?

К вопросу о цензуре интернета

В Австралии строят национальный firewall, типа, как в Китае.
В Англии провайдеры блокируют Википедию.
В России, на Украине - сами знаете.

А что с этим у нас в Штатах?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/09/BUKT14K4D4.DTL&type=business&tsp=1

The Department of Homeland Security has failed to secure the Internet and should no longer take the lead role in trying, say government and security experts who on Monday urged President-elect Barack Obama to create a new national office to police cyberspace.
Their report also calls for new laws to protect privacy and speed investigations of cybercrimes; strong identification of all people and devices connecting to networks belonging to power plants and other organizations critical to U.S. security; and secure software for everybody who connects to the Internet - not just the military and national security agencies.
The recommendations are included in a 96-page document, "Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency," released Monday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The center, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, began working on this report last year after cyberattacks were launched against the country of Estonia and several U.S. federal agencies, including the Pentagon and the departments of commerce and state.
The report has bipartisan backing from the lead Democrat and ranking minority member - Rep. James Langevin, D-R.I., and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas - of a House Homeland Security subcommittee in charge of legislation in this area, as well as contributions from more than 50 academics and security experts.

Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/081208_securingcyberspace_44.pdf

Город-герой-Беркли, Сдерживая Слезы, Просит(!) Федералов(!) Осудить(!) Берклийского Профессора

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/09/BA0I14K7P3.DTL&tsp=1

After an emotional, fiery debate over academic freedom and torture, Berkeley's city council passed a measure late Monday night imploring the U.S. to prosecute Berkeley resident and former White House official John Yoo for war crimes.
Yoo, a tenured professor at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, wrote the legal memos justifying torture while interrogating terrorism suspects while he served as Deputy Assistant Attorney general for the Bush administration in 2001-03.
"John Yoo took a material involvement in the deaths and torture of untold numbers of people," said city councilman Max Anderson, choking back tears during the council's debate. "The broken bodies, the broken spirits, the broken trust he wrought with his actions - that's why they call these crimes against humanity."

Макроэкономическое

...А между тем, контейнеровозы из Азии все продолжали прибывать в Штаты...



UPD: снял полчаса назад, запостил, а прямо сейчас еще один под окнами проплывает. Немного поменьше, зато груженый по самую ватерлинию.