Senate Republicans seek to permanently instate Patriot Act powers

US House rejects temporary extension of Patriot Act surveillance powers

AFP | Feb 9, 2011

The US lower house on Tuesday rejected a nine-month extension of surveillance powers under the Patriot Act, passed after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The vote now heads to the Senate, with Republicans saying they want the powers permanently instated.

AFP – The US House of Representatives on Tuesday rejected a nine-month extension of counter-terrorism surveillance powers at the heart of the Patriot Act adopted after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

With the three provisions set to expire February 28, lawmakers voted 277-148 in favor of legislation to renew them until December 8, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed under House rules.

The surprise vote came amid a bitter battle over how long to extend the intrusive powers at the core of the signature legislative response to the terrorist strikes nearly 10 years ago, and with what safeguards.

The provisions allow authorities to use roving wiretaps to track an individual on several telephones; track a non-US national suspected of being “lone-wolf” terrorist not tied to an extremist group; and to seize personal or business records seen as critical to an investigation.

US President Barack Obama, wading into the fray, pressed lawmakers to extend those authorities — which supporters say fill key gaps in the fight against extremists — through December 2013.

Obama “strongly supports extension of three critical authorities that our nation’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies need to protect our national security,” the White House said in a statement.

The president “would strongly prefer” the nearly three-year extension but “does not object” to the House bill, which Republican backers said would give time needed to debate a longer lifespan for the intrusive powers.

But 26 Republicans joined 122 Democrats to defeat the measure, while 210 Republicans and 67 Democrats united in favor of extending the authorities, forcing red-faced Republican leaders to consider planning another vote.

The bigger fight had been expected in the Senate, where Republicans say they want the law extended permanently and Democrats are torn between two key White House allies who favor the December 2013 timeframe but differ deeply on safeguards.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy favors limiting the government’s abilities to use the various powers and greater scrutiny when they do, notably to protect against abuse or needless invasions of privacy.

Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein has proposed legislation with the same timetable, but without the restrictions.

The White House statement did not express a preference between the Democratic proposals, which would put the next big fight on the issue after the 2012 presidential election campaign but could anger civil liberties supporters.

“I do not support efforts to permanently extend these expiring provisions. Nor do I support undercutting important oversight and government accountability of these intelligence gathering tools,” Leahy said in a statement.

“Instead, I support strengthening oversight and providing the intelligence community the certainty it needs to protect national security,” he said.

But key Republicans have signaled they could back Feinstein’s bill, giving it solid prospects of passing.

Leahy’s restrictions are “not helpful” to authorities hunting terrorists, said the top Republican on Feinstein’s committee, Saxby Chambliss.

“There’s no difference between our bill and Feinstein’s, except that ours would be permanent,” he said. “The 2013 extension, I’d rather see it made permanent, but it’s better” than Leahy’s bill.

US Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper urged top lawmakers in a January 28 letter to extend all three powers and complained of frequent renewals.

Holder and Clapper said they welcomed congressional scrutiny but warned against “short-term extensions that increase the uncertainties borne by our intelligence and law enforcement agencies in carrying out their missions.”

Freemasons seek tax-exempt status

“We’re a society with secrets.”

Five state representatives, all Freemasons, want an exemption on Masonic temple property taxes, citing the group’s charitable contributions to illustrate its qualifications.

But Kathryn Temchack, the city director of real estate assessments, believes the group unfairly wants special treatment.

concordmonitor.com | Feb 8, 2011

By Ray Duckler

House Bill 396, sponsored by four Republicans and Democrat Stephen Shurtleff of Penacook, seeks to add “Masonic temples or building associations to institutions whose property is exempt from taxation.”

Groups that perform religious, educational or charitable functions on their property are eligible for tax exemption status. The Masons donate money to the D.A.R.E. and reading programs as well as the Shriners Hospital for children.

“The Masons do a lot for charity,” said Shurtleff, a member of the Penacook chapter and a Freemason for more than 25 years. “I can see if a lodge rented out to another agency and generated money from it, it should be taxable. But if money comes only from membership and it works as a charitable entity, I don’t see why it’s not tax-exempt like other organizations.”

The Freemasons date back hundreds, perhaps thousands of year, said Shawn Jasper, a Republican from Hudson and one of the bill’s sponsors. Jasper said recorded minutes exist from the early 1700s, adding that some believe the Masons united during the Dark Ages, when churches and other houses of worship faded from the building landscape.

“All these skilled craftsmen who weren’t building anything wanted to be able to pass the traditions on,” said Jasper, who belongs to a Nashua chapter and who’s been a member for nearly 20 years. “So it might have evolved from there.”

New Hampshire has 68 lodges, or local chapters, including one in Concord, the Blazing Star-Eureka Lodge 11 on Iron Works Road.

The Masons, for men only, is a spiritual organization open to all religions. Discussions on politics are forbidden in the temples. The belief in God and the brotherhood of men are primary focuses.

“We represent what is hopefully the best of mankind,” Jasper said. “We’re trying to teach how to better men. We refer to God, but we speak of God as the supreme being.”

“It’s about helping yourself and helping people,” added Sherman Packard, a Republican from Londonderry and another sponsor.

While professing kindness and acceptance, the Masons have also been shrouded in mystery, accused of being a conspiratorial group looking to create a new world and hiding sinister secrets from the public.

Jasper laughed when asked about happenings behind closed doors.

“The common misconception is always that we were a secret society,” Jasper said. “Of course, if we were a secret society, we wouldn’t be having this phone conversation. We’re a society with secrets, although you can find out just about anything about Freemasons on the internet.”

When asked about a new world order, Shurtleff said, “I have too much going on to take on that chore.”

The Masonic movement has seen declining enrollment numbers in recent decades, Jasper said. His temple in Nashua, the Rising Sun, is stable financially, but others, like the one in Derry, are looking to sell their buildings.

All religious, educational and charitable organizations must apply for tax-exempt status each year on or before April 15.

House Bill 396 adds to the existing statute the words “Masonic temple or building association” to a list of organizations, including national veterans associations, that must file by the deadline.

But, the bill goes on to say, “The real estate and personal property owned by Granges or by Masonic Temples or building associations which are incorporated in this state shall be exempt from property taxes.”

Temchack said that means the Masons are looking to bypass the annual filing procedure.

“They’re not saying that they want to petition and prove that they qualify,” Temchack said. “The bottom line is they want to be tax-exempt and they don’t want to have to prove anything, period.” (next page »)

CDC won’t study effects of toxic Chinese drywall exposure

 

• Thousands say the drywall in their homes has made them sick
• The CDC says a study of long-term effects could take years and may not yield useful results
• The decision does not sit well with some homeowners

Residents of 42 states, Puerto Rico and America Samoa have complained that Chinese drywall, imported into the United States, have made them sick with chronic sinus and upper respiratory problems, nosebleeds, migraine headaches and other ills. Their sickness, they say, appears to go away once they move out of their homes.

CNN | Feb 9, 2011

By Rich Phillips

Miami, Florida (CNN) — An extended study of the long-term effects of exposure to defective Chinese drywall on people whose homes contained it is not necessary, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has determined.

That decision was made, according to the CDC, because the symptoms that people are suffering from are self-reported and too general and exposure levels are not available — meaning a scientific study would take many years, require enormous resources and is unlikely to yield useful results.

“…The best scientific evidence available to us today does not support undertaking a long-term health study,” said Bernadette Burden, CDC spokeswoman.

Residents of 42 states, Puerto Rico and America Samoa have complained that Chinese drywall, imported into the United States, have made them sick with chronic sinus and upper respiratory problems, nosebleeds, migraine headaches and other ills. Their sickness, they say, appears to go away once they move out of their homes.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has determined that the drywall emits extraordinarily high levels of hydrogen sulfide, which gives off a pungent rotten-egg smell inside the homes. The sulfur inside the drywall has corroded metallic objects in homes and has caused electrical wiring, appliances and air-conditioning systems to mysteriously fail.

But “the levels of sulfur gases found in environmental samples were generally in low parts-per-billion or parts-per-trillion levels,” Burden said. “These levels are so low that other confounding factors would overwhelm them in a study.”

“It would be extremely difficult to tie (the levels) to health effects. The sample size would not give enough statistical power — at least 10,000 participants would be needed,” she said.

However, the news that the CDC will not investigate the health effects further does not sit well among some homeowners who have the defective wall product.

Eleanor Aguilar had to move out of her Lauderhill, Florida, townhome after she believed her walls made her sick with migraines, sinus trouble and nosebleeds — symptoms that made living there unbearable.

“I’m disgusted. This is something no one has ever had before. Are you gonna put your head in the sand?” she wondered.

CNN has spoken to many homeowners who wondered what the drywall could be doing to their health after they saw the insides of their homes being corroded and their air-conditioning systems, stereos and computers dying.

Allison Grant is a Florida attorney who represents about 1,200 people with co-counsel Bob Brown. Their clients claim to be plagued by the drywall, which has made them sick, and which they say has caused their property values to plunge.

“I am shocked that the CDC has determined at this early stage that no further studies are warranted,” Grant said. She maintains that hundreds of her clients have suffered adverse health effects, and several have been hospitalized for infections and sinus surgery.

“While I certainly hope that there are no long-term health effects, the CDC’s decision sends the message that any health effects are inconsequential and not worthy of further study,” she told CNN.

So far, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has documented about 4,000 homes with the problem, but they believe the numbers are greater. The drywall was imported into the Unites States in 2005 and 2006, when a shortage of building materials due to very active hurricane seasons, as well as a home building boom, caused America to import more drywall from China.

The commission is recommending that homeowners remove the drywall, gut their homes and replace the electrical wiring. But that costs thousands of dollars and is not covered by homeowners’ insurance.

So thousands of people have become part of a nationwide class-action lawsuit, based in Louisiana. A federal judge has already ruled the Chinese drywall companies are liable, but that order is being appealed.

One of those companies, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, has entered into an agreement with plaintiffs to begin gutting and rebuilding 300 homes as part of a pilot program.

However, the company said the CDC’s decision against further investigation underscores its own findings that do not link the drywall to long-term sickness.

“We’re obviously aware of those reports, but haven’t seen any empirical evidence or studies that link this to the drywall,” said Knauf attorney Greg Wallance.

Wallance said the company’s renovation program should give confidence to homeowners.

“This should address the concerns the homeowners have, by getting the drywall out,” he said.

Hitler card game maker faces German prosecution

“Dictator’s Quartet” is a despot-based twist on a popular German children’s card game called “Quartet.”

CNN | Feb 8, 2011

Berlin (CNN) — Prosecutors in Germany have begun proceedings against a company that makes a card game featuring Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, among others, they said Tuesday.

The Hitler card features a photo of the dictator and a partially obscured swastika, the Nazi party symbol — the display of which is illegal in Germany.

“The photo as such could be problematic, but in connection with the swastika it definitely is,” said Antje Gabriels-Gorsolke, chief prosecutor and spokeswoman for Nuremberg state prosecutor’s office.

The state prosecutor’s office became aware of the cards because they were on display at the International Toy Fair which is going on in Nuremberg at the moment.

They have ordered the cards to be confiscated. The handler has, in any case, cleared his stand.

The card game “Dictator’s Quartet: The world’s most evil dictators on 32 playing cards” also features historical figures such as Uganda’s Idi Amin Dada and Augusto Pinochet of Chile.

It divides dictators into categories such as fascists, military rulers and U.S. puppets, with each card listing their age on succession to power, length of time in power, number of victims and private income.

The game is on sale for 10 euros (about $13.60).

The company that makes the game did not immediately respond to CNN requests for comment.

It also makes card games featuring plagues, bugs and drugs.