TCS: You Got to Have Friends

Posted on March 20, 2017 by wordcloud9

Good Morning!

____________________________________________________________

Welcome to The Coffee Shop, just for you early risers on Monday mornings. This is an Open Thread forum, so if you have an off-topic opinion burning a hole in your brainpan, feel free to add a comment.
__________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

What the heck is THAT?

________________________________________________________________

Continue reading →

Posted in Short Video, The Coffee Shop | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on TCS: You Got to Have Friends

Customs and Border Patrol Warrantless Searches

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Terry Welshans

Dating back to at least 2009, Customs and Border Patrol has detained pilots of general aviation aircraft and have conducted warrantless searches.  In a typical scenario, after a routine flight, you land at your destination, taxi to the ramp—and then you’re unexpectedly approached by more than half a dozen armed law enforcement officers, including a couple with rifles in hand. There’s a K-9 unit on scene, and the dog circles the aircraft several times.

fourthamendment

The officers demand to see your pilot and medical certificates. You hand over the paperwork. Then they demand to search your aircraft and luggage. They don’t have a warrant and they can’t seem to tell you why they want to look, so you say “no” to the search. The officers are clearly unhappy with your answer. If you don’t consent to the search, they’ll detain you for 48 hours, they warn. Still unwilling? They threaten to call a “buddy” at the FAA and have your pilot certificate revoked.

Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Big Brother, Constitutional Law, DHS, Nazis, Terrorism, United States, War on "Terror", War on Drugs | 2 Comments

a Gainsborough attacked, British landed gentry safe from stochastic terrorism

Posted on March 19, 2017 by ann li-summers

By ann summers

morning_walk_1_[1]

‘The Morning Walk’ by Thomas Gainsborough shows an elegant young couple strolling through a woodland landscape, an attentive dog at the lady’s heel. William Hallett and Elizabeth Stephen were both aged 21 and due to be married in the summer of 1785, shortly after the painting was completed. Portraits of wealthy sitters posed in a natural setting and dressed in their finest (but not necessarily most practical) clothes were a popular status symbol.

No Mimosas were harmed in the vicious attack on the Gainsborough even as the tradition of attacks on famous artworks continues.

It has yet to be determined if the “lone wolf” assailant had terrorist ties, but due to his lack of fixed abode, he could be considered an immigrant acting on behalf of a foreign entity, or an iconoclast like Daesh, destroying pagan artifacts.

A wing of the National Gallery was evacuated on Saturday afternoon after a man attacked a Thomas Gainsborough painting with a screwdriver.

At about 2.15pm in the east wing of the gallery, a visitor attacked the 1785 painting Mr and Mrs William Hallett, better known as The Morning Walk….

The Morning Walk hangs in Room 34, which houses British paintings and was used as the setting for a covert meeting between Daniel Craig’s James Bond and Ben Whishaw’s equipment expert Q in the film Skyfall. The Gainsborough painting can be spotted over Craig’s shoulder as the pair admire a painting by Joseph Turner, The Fighting Temeraire, and discuss the high-tech weaponry Q has prepared for Bond.

YouTube Video

The wing was evacuated and off-limits for about two hours and a man was arrested. On Sunday afternoon police announced they had charged Keith Gregory, 63, of no fixed abode, with causing criminal damage. He has been remanded to appear at Westminster magistrates court on Monday.

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, England, History, Humor, Media, United Kingdom, War on "Terror", Weird Crime | Tagged , | 2 Comments

ON THIS DAY: March 19, 2017

Posted on March 19, 2017 by wordcloud9

March 19th is

National Certified Nurses Day *

Chocolate Caramel Day

Deskfast Day *

Let’s Laugh Day

Oatmeal Cookie Day

National Poultry Day

International Read to Me Day
______________________________________________________________

MORE! Minna Canth, Minnie Fisher Cunningham and Mary Tyler Moore, click

Continue reading →

Posted in History, Holidays, On This Day | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

ON THIS DAY: March 18, 2017

Posted on March 18, 2017 by wordcloud9

March 18th is

Corn Dog Day

Sloppy Joe Day

Awkward Moments Day

Forgive Mom and Dad Day

National Biodiesel Day

Play The Recorder Day *

Worldwide Quilting Day
________________________________________________________________

MORE! Alice Cullen, Margaret Tucker and Kate Millett, click

Continue reading →

Posted in History, Holidays, On This Day | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on ON THIS DAY: March 18, 2017

A Beginner’s Guide to The Utah Data Center

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Terry Welshans

The Utah Data Center is also known as the Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center. The data center is alleged to be able to process “all forms of communication, including the complete contents of private emails, cell phone calls, and Internet searches, as well as all types of personal data trails—parking receipts, travel itineraries, bookstore purchases, and other digital ‘pocket litter’.”

EFF_photograph_of_NSA's_Utah_Data_CenterWikipedia By Parker Higgins

It is located at Camp Williams at N 11600 W, Saratoga Springs, Utah, zip code  84045. It is near Bluffdale, Utah, between Utah Lake and Great Salt Lake. It was completed in May 2014 at a cost of $1.5 billion. This facility is very secure, but the following facts are in public domain: In February 2012, Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert revealed that:

… the Utah Data Center would be the “first facility in the world expected to gather and house a yottabyte“.  Since then, conflicting media reports have also estimated our storage capacity in terms of zettabytes and exabytes. While the actual capacity is classified for NATIONAL SECURITY REASONS, we can say this: The Utah Data Center was built with future expansion in mind and the ultimate capacity will definitely be “alottabytes”!

The Data Center’s web page reports that the structure has a 1 million square feet “mission critical Tier III data center”, and more than 900,000 square feet of technical support and administrative space.  A report suggested that it will cost another $2 billion for hardware, software, and maintenance. There are twenty buildings that  include water treatment facilities, chiller plants, electric substation, fire pump house, warehouse, vehicle inspection facility, visitor control center, and sixty diesel-fueled emergency standby generators with a fuel facility for a 3-day 100% power backup capability. The facility requires 65 megawatts of purchased electricity, costing about $40 million per year. The facility uses 1.7 million gallons of cooling water per day.

Continue reading →

Posted in 2016 Election, Big Brother, Congress, FBI, information Technology, NSA, Politics, Russia, Technology, United States | 8 Comments

Propaganda 103: The Word Changes, The Word Remains The Same

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Gene Howington
Reproduction of a Gutenberg press.

Reproduction of a Gutenberg press.

By GENE HOWINGTON

“I have been a believer in the magic of language since, at a very early age, I discovered that some words got me into trouble and others got me out” – Katherine Dunn

“Until it is kindled by a spirit as flamingly alive as the one which gave it birth a book is dead to us. Words divested of their magic are but dead hieroglyphs.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

We return to the word; our most basic element of communication. The written word is naturally an extension of the spoken word. At the beginning of civilization, all propaganda was the spoken word. The primary limiting effect on the spread of ideas was the size of audience within hearing range of the speaker. Then came the image, the structure and written word. They had greater value in spreading ideas because of their inherently static nature. With the invention of paper and other portable means of propagating words and images, ideas were no longer tied directly to the speaker. The content was static, but the medium of exchange mobile. The primary limiting effect was the ability to reproduce these works manually by scribes and artisans combined with literacy in the ancient world being a comparative rarity.

Continue reading →

Posted in Propaganda | 3 Comments

Propaganda 102: Holly Would and the Power of Images

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Gene Howington

By GENE HOWINGTON

Graphic art such as posters, paintings and film can be and often are considered works of art. Can propaganda using these mediums be considered art? Propaganda posters are considered art by many and in the design industry “propaganda” is considered a style all its own. Consider these examples and decide if you think they constitute art as well as propaganda.

Join the Flowers for Socrates Force as we discuss yet another facet of propaganda!

This means you!

Continue reading →

Posted in Propaganda | 3 Comments

Propaganda 102 Supplemental: Holly Would “Zero Dark Thirty”

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Gene Howington

By GENE HOWINGTON

(c) 2012, Columbia Pictures, image used w/o permission.

(c) 2012, Columbia Pictures, image used w/o permission.

Upon the suggestion of long time and valued blog contributor James in LA, this column on “Zero Dark Thirty” and the controversy surrounding that film is offered as a supplement to the earlier entry in the series on propaganda,”Propaganda 102: Holly Would and the Power of Images“. It is in part movie review and in part a critical examination of the film’s content as related to the controversy around whether or not this film is pro-torture propaganda. Thank you for the excellent suggestion, James!

Is “Zero Dark Thirty” (ZDT) a good film? Is ZDT propaganda? If so, is it pro-torture propaganda (i.e. does it support or promote the idea of torture as a valid and/or necessary intelligence gathering methodology)?  Let us examine these questions . . .

Continue reading →

Posted in Propaganda | 2 Comments

ON THIS DAY: March 17, 2017

Posted on March 17, 2017 by wordcloud9

March 17th is

St. Patrick’s Day

Camp Fire Girls Day *

World Sleep Day *

Corned Beef & Cabbage Day

Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence
___________________________________________________________

MORE!  St. Patrick, Kate Greenaway and Golda Meir, click

Continue reading →

Posted in History, Holidays, On This Day | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments