Author: Gareth

A Federal Judge has ruled that the U.S. government’s warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered it ended immediately.

Halle-fucking-lujiah.

Of course, the Bush junta will most likely just ignore this, claiming “National Security,” “Executive Privelege,” or “Because I Said So.” Of course, I’m expecting that the mainstream media will instead breathlessly cover the latest chapter of the JonBenet Ramsey CelebriTragiPorn, so perhaps this story will die a quiet death.

Here’s a PDF of the ruling. Save it. Show it to your kids someday, as a historical document, marking the moment when someone tried to put this nation back on track.

The best quote from the whole thing, which is just begging to be made into a T-shirt, bumper stickers, etc. and plastered everywhere:

“….the Office of the Chief Executive has itself been created, with its powers, by the Constitution. There are no hereditary Kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution.”

Craig Murray is the former British ambassador to the Central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan. Since leaving the UK Government, he’s become an outspoken critic of Western policies in the region. He’s just published an article on his website about the alleged Airline Bombing Plot, which is well worth reading.

“I have been reading very carefully through all the Sunday newspapers to try and analyse the truth from all the scores of pages claiming to detail the so-called bomb plot. Unlike the great herd of so-called security experts doing the media analysis, I have the advantage of having had the very highest security clearances myself, having done a huge amount of professional intelligence analysis, and having been inside the spin machine.

So this, I believe, is the true story.

None of the alleged terrorists had made a bomb. None had bought a plane ticket. Many did not even have passports, which given the efficiency of the UK Passport Agency would mean they couldn’t be a plane bomber for quite some time.”

He goes on, providing more details, before concluding:

“In all of this, the one thing of which I am certain is that the timing is deeply political. This is more propaganda than plot. Of the over one thousand British Muslims arrested under anti-terrorist legislation, only twelve per cent are ever charged with anything. That is simply harrassment of Muslims on an appalling scale. Of those charged, 80% are acquitted. Most of the very few – just over two per cent of arrests – who are convicted, are not convicted of anything to do terrorism, but of some minor offence the Police happened upon while trawling through the wreck of the lives they had shattered.

Be sceptical. Be very, very sceptical.”

The latest Zogby Poll indicated that Bush’s numbers have continued to sink, even with the unveiling of this “plot” — so maybe the country has finally woken up and smelled the bullshit. I can only pray that this is the case…..although it makes me very frightened as well: If the staged unveiling of a “MAJOR TERRORIST THREAT!!!OMGWTF!!!!” didn’t save his approval rating, how long will it be before Rove and the rest of the NeoCon Cabal decide that we need to have an actual attack to serve as a Reichstag Fire to drive up support?

So, as some of you are aware, back at the end of May, I was contacted by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., who apparently had problems with the “similarities” between elements of Adamant’s forthcoming planetary-romance RPG, MARS, and the Mars novels written by Burroughs in the early part of the last century.

I decided, at the time, to give them an opportunity to tell me their concerns, figuring if I could address them directly then we might be able to circumvent a groundless lawsuit. I heard nothing more from them until June 22 — a single cryptic line, asking for my physical address so that they “could correspond with Adamant Entertainment thereat.” I responded immediately, providing my mailing address.

I haven’t heard a word since.

Moreover, I started to get suspicious — the individual who contacted me initially claimed the title of “General Counsel” — but on the second email, the title was “President.” On top of this, the email address used to contact me was a yahoo.com address, rather than any one of the dedicated domains owned by ERB, Inc. It has occurred to me that this may be nothing more than an effort by an enemy (whether Porter or someone else with a grudge), to fuck with me for their own amusement.

Even if it is genuine, though, I am more convinced of the fact that if any suit IS brought, I can easily have it tossed by demonstrating Prior Art.

So, I sent the following email yesterday:

“I have been waiting nearly two months since sending my address to you following the receipt of your below-quoted email, yet there has been no correspondance from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.

Adamant Entertainment has delayed the release of our product, which is based upon our own intellectual property, and the traditions of the Planetary Romance genre….of which Burroughs was a part, but not the creator….and most certainly not the owner. The delay in release was due to our willingness to address any specific concerns that Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. had with the preview material. Having now delayed nearly a full Quarter from the receipt of your initial contact of May 30th, our goodwill has been amply demonstrated, and yet no further communication has been forthcoming from your office.

Further, having examined our electronic shipment records, I also find it somewhat concerning that we are unable to confirm shipment to you of a registered copy of our Preview, which you claim to have reviewed. As you are well aware, unauthorized copying (or receiving unauthorized copies) of electronic product is actionable, as recent lawsuits by the RIAA and MPAA have demonstrated. I would appreciate if you could provide us with more detailed information regarding how you received the copy you reviewed. If Adamant Entertainment, or one of our vendors, have a security problem, we would be very interested in tracking it down.

Thank you for your cooperation,

Gareth-Michael Skarka
Adamant Entertainment”

So stay tuned, folks — I’ve decided to play Chicken with this motherfucker. I’m expecting that they’ll blink.