When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Category Archives: Security
How to Spot a Pirate
Chief Nato spokesman James Appathurai is quoted in the BBC, saying it is hard to spot Somali pirates:
“There are a host of pirates, but they don’t identify themselves with eye-patches and hook hands so it isn’t immediately obvious that they are pirates.”
I think this has always been true. Pirates have never wanted to be identified early, since it makes their chase harder, but I have to think that the direction of their boat, along with machine guns, RPGs and masks, all make for a good giveaway.
Friend or foe? Black Beard never wore a patch or a hook.
Clean Water Act
I wrote to Representative Nancy Pelosi about my concern for water as it relates to security. Here is part of her reply:
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, amended in 1977, and commonly known as the Clean Water Act, established regulations for the discharge of pollutants into the waters of the United States. The act initiated pollution control programs and set water quality standards for contaminants in surface waters. In the three decades since the establishment of the Clean Water Act, court rulings and agency interpretations of federal regulation have reduced the protections afforded to our drinking waters and wetlands intended by the original Clean Water Act. HR 2421 would restore the original intent of the Clean Water Act by amending the Act’s definition of “waters of the United States” to include “intrastate” and “intermittent” water bodies, which would then extend protections to all of our nation’s waters and wetlands.
Regulations to protect the health and welfare of citizens are obviously a non-trivial responsibility. Like patching vulnerable software, I hope these changes to the words will enable better controls over pollution. I also hope more support for clean water and awareness emerges in order to push back on the notion that corporations can pollute without accountability.
Mongol Trademark Seized
More news on the Mongol motorcycle gang reveals that the US government is trying to outlaw their identity. A judge has banned anyone from wearing a trademark logo:
The judge initially issued an injunction Tuesday, but that order was limited to barring the sale or distribution of the logo. New language was added, saying the gang members and their affiliates “shall surrender for seizure all products, clothing, vehicles, motorcycles … or other materials bearing the Mongols trademark, upon presentation of a copy of this order.”
Welk said his office is drafting the protocol for such seizures. Law enforcement agencies could begin enforcing the injunction by Thursday or Friday, he said.
Observers questioned whether the injunction is constitutional.
“Here you have the government stepping in and preventing a rights holder of using the (trade) mark they legally obtained,” said attorney Douglas Mirell, who specializes in First Amendment cases.
“It strikes me as a serious potential First Amendment violation to have the government come in and attempt to, and in this case exceed, stripping lawfully obtained rights,” he added. “This is one for the record books.”
The effectiveness of this control, let alone it’s constitutionality under free speech, seems dubious. Is the argument that the trademark itself is dangerous?