Month: March 2006

Washington Post: Bike Band Sticker Causes Bomb Scare

ATHENS, Ohio — A sticker on a bicycle that said “this bike is a pipe bomb” caused a scare Thursday at Ohio University that shut down four buildings before authorities learned the message was the name of a punk rock band, a university spokesman said.

How moronic is this? What stupid terrorist would label their bike as containing a pipe-bomb if it really did contain one?

The bomb experts hit the bike with a high-pressure spray of water, then pried it apart with a hydraulic device normally used to rescue accident victims trapped in cars, acting Athens Fire Chief Ken Gilbraith said. Once they had it open, they saw there was no bomb.

Poor bastard learns his lesson the hard way don’t stick stickers on your bike that contains statements that could be misconstrued by moronic figures in authority or else you’ll have your bike dismantled by heavy machinery.

Dean of Students Terry Hogan urged students to be more careful when showing support for the band from Pensacola, Fla.

Tags: errorism, security terrorism

A Wichita State University study has concluded that despite fears of internet crime most people are still creating insecure passwords for their online accounts even though they know better. [Via Bruce Schneier]

Tags: computer security, passwords, security

Not really news as the truth did come out following the event but Fox News now has video footage that shows President Bush was warned of the potential impact of Hurricane Katrina.

In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, put lives at risk in New Orleans’ Superdome and overwhelm rescuers, according to confidential video footage.

Bush didn’t ask a single question during the final briefing before Katrina struck on Aug. 29, but he assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: “We are fully prepared.”

The possibility that the levees might be ‘topped’ was a grave concern at the meeting and yet the President was to state categorically after the hurricane had hit New Orleans that no one could have predicted that the levees would be breached.

Tags: Bush, politics, security, US

Spy Blog has an excellent analysis of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill or as it otherwise has been described as The Abolition of Parliament Bill.

Cabinet Office Minister Jim Murphy has published the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill 2006 looks to be another sneaky attempt by the Executive branch of Government to further weaken the role of Parliament.

Why does the NuLabour Government hate the idea of full public consultation and of detailed scrutiny by Parliament so much ?

This Bill adds to the already strong case for a law which imposes criminal penalties on any Government Ministers, civil servants and lawyers, who dare to use words like “any” or “all” or “every” in a Bill or Order or Regulation, without qualification, caveat or restriction of unlimited powers.

Similarly, by law, no Act of Parliament should ever be worded so that it could be interpreted to give the power to amend itself (not the same thing as normal Secondary Legislation), without new Primary Legislation and full, detailed scrutiny by Parliament.

This Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill fails these simple constitutional safeguards.

Murky.org also makes some great points in his summing up of The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill

Tags: politics, totalitarianism