Photographers issue plea to end 'hostile' public searches under anti-terror laws

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/6889102/Photographers-issue-plea-to-end-hostile-public-searches-under-anti-terror-laws.html

More than 350 photographers have issued a joint plea to end the "hostile" and "humiliating" use of anti-terror laws to prevent them taking pictures in public.

The professional and amateur photographers have signed a letter, published in The Sunday Telegraph, calling on ministers and the police halt the practice of them being stopped and searched while they are taking images in public places.

877 new snowfall records set or tied in the USA in the last week

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/12/27/877-new-snowfall-records-set-or-tied-in-the-usa-in-the-last-week/

And that’s not all, for the week ending Dec 13th, there were 815 new snowfall records set. December 2009 is shaping up to be quite the snowmaker.

How China Might Buy More Gold Than America Owns

http://www.businessinsider.com/china-gold-23-12-2009

China has a long way to go before coming anywhere near America's gold reserves.

Yet apparently it's on their to-do list and a must, at least according to the country's China Gold Association.

We're Screwed! ShadowStats.com founder John Williams explains the risk of hyperinflation.

http://www.fairfieldweekly.com/article.cfm?aid=16014

Worst-case scenario? Rioting in the streets and devolution to a bartering system.

Do you believe everything the government tells you? Economist and statistician John Williams sure doesn't.

Is requiring health insurance even legal?

 http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/health/1959107,CST-NWS-health27.article

The health bill approved by the Senate would mandate that all Americans carry health insurance policies by 2014, with the government providing subsidies to help low- and middle-income families pay for them.

Those who don't buy insurance would face fines that rise gradually to $750 -- or a maximum of $2,250 per family.

Since when does the government have the right to mandate that you buy something, Ensign, of Nevada, said.

Judge Napolitano: One Big Monster Government

http://eclipptv.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=9184

Hectic.

Lieberman: Yemen will be 'tomorrow's war' if pre-emptive action not taken

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/73651-lieberman-yemen-will-be-tomorrows-war-if-preemptive-action-not-taken

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) Sunday said that Yemen could be the ground of America's next overseas war if Washington does not take preemptive action to root out al-Qaeda interests there.

Lieberman, who helms the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said on "Fox News Sunday" that the U.S. will have to take an active approach in Yemen after multiple recent terrorist attacks on the U.S. were linked back to the Middle Eastern nation.

I forgot. What's a terrorist again?

Stasi-like Plan to Check Every Phone Call and Email in Britian

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1238618/
Telecoms firms have accused the Government of acting like the East German Stasi over plans to force them to store the details of every phone call for at least a year.

Under the proposals, the details of every email sent and website visited will also be recorded to help the police and security services fight crime and terrorism.

 Seriously?

The New, Terrifying, No-Electronics US Flight Security Rules

http://gizmodo.com/5434592/the-new-terrifying-no+electronics-us-flight-security-rules
That failed terrorist attack yesterday might make international flights a whole lot less enjoyable. Passengers are reporting that new restrictions are in place, and their severity varies flight-to-flight. Among the reports, a rumor: No electronics allowed.

Sweet.

Daily Mail Report Says CRU Emails Linked to Communist China

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1238638/Chinese-hackers-linked-Warmergate-climate-change-leaked-emails-controversy.html
The investigation into the so-called Warmergate emails - the leaked data from the University of East Anglia’s climate change department - took a new twist last night when The Mail on Sunday tracked the stolen messages to a suspect computer which provides internet access to China.

What?