It's Sunday

It's Sunday

Yoga taught in a public school is not a gateway to Hinduism and does not violate the religious rights of students or their parents, a California appeals court has ruled.

  Guardian

In case you are an ignorant Christian fundamentalist who thinks it is.

Stephen and Jennifer Sedlock and their two children had brought the lawsuit claiming yoga promoted Hinduism and inhibited Christianity.

[...]

“No other court in the past 50 years has allowed public school officials to lead children in formal religious rituals like the Hindu liturgy of praying to, bowing to, and worshipping the sun god,” attorney Dean Broyles said in a statement.

And, neither did this one, dufus.

The district said the practice was taught in a secular way to promote strength, flexibility and balance.

Yoga is now taught at schools across the US, but the district is believed to be the first with full-time yoga teachers at all schools.

[...]

About 30 families opted out of the classes begun in 2011.

We don’t want our kids being strong, flexible, OR balanced.

And What About the Back Doors Already There?

[ Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis] is sponsoring the Surveillance State Repeal Act with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. The bill includes a provision that the federal government cannot require electronics or software manufacturers to build in a mechanism to allow the government to bypass privacy technology.

The issue, which will come up this spring as part of the debate over whether to reauthorize the Patriot Act, underscores a growing struggle between federal law enforcement agencies and the tech industry over data encryption.

The bill's sponsors plan to push for the legislation after Congress returns from its two-week recess.

  USA Today

Good luck. They'll be squabbling about Iran for weeks. Maybe months. And there's still Benghazi to scrutinize.

FBI Director James Comey has publicly chastised tech companies for installing automatic encryption into their devices and has urged Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit it. Attorney General Eric Holder also has weighed in, saying that quick access to phone data can help law enforcement officers find victims snatched by kidnappers and child molesters.

"Encryption threatens to lead us all to a very, very dark place," Comey said during a public appearance at the Brookings Institution in October. "Have we become so mistrustful of government and law enforcement in particular that we are willing to let bad guys walk away, willing to leave victims in search of justice?"

Sigh.

At Least One More Should Probably Be Fired for Stupidity

In Ferguson, Missouri, racist emails amongst a court clerk and police officials (all of whom have either been fired or resigned after the publication of some of the emails) have been slowly coming out. Some are reprinted here.

 In addition,

Some 50,000 emails also reviewed by the DOJ remain unavailable to the public. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch quoted an estimate of $43,750 by the city clerk to redact private information from the emails in compliance with the state’s public record laws. Ferguson’s city attorney, Stephanie Karr, would have to redact an estimated 200 emails an hour, at the hourly rate of $175, plus a deposit and copy fee.

  RT

That’s a pretty good hourly wage.

Karr herself was named in the DOJ report for dismissing a traffic ticket issued to Ferguson municipal court judge Ronald Brockmeyer, who has since resigned his position in Ferguson and four other jurisdictions.

[...]

“I don’t think the taxpayers of the city of Ferguson should bear the financial burden,” of the FOIA request, Karr said. Asked whether she would consider doing the redactions pro bono, Karr replied, “I don’t know what you mean.”

Did she get her law degree in Missouri? We need to up the standards.

 ...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

He Can't Have Been Too Surprised

After all, he went into prison with this announcement: "Good news!—The U.S. government decided today that because I did such a good job investigating the cyber-industrial complex, they’re now going to send me to investigate the prison-industrial complex."

American journalist Barrett Brown, who is serving over five years in prison for his links to the hacktivist collective Anonymous, had his email suspended for a year after he contacted a journalist about potential wrongdoing by the Bureau of Prisons.

[...]

According to its own policy, the Bureau of Prisons allows inmates access to the TRULINCS prisoner e-mail system with certain restrictions.

“Inmates may send electronic messages to securely, efficiently and economically maintain contact with persons in the community. … [but] the CEO prohibits or discontinues its operation, or individual inmates' participation, whenever it is determined to jeopardize the safety, security, or orderly operation of the correctional facility, or the protection of the public and staff.”

  RT

Or tell on us.

Brown was in contact with Glenn Greenwald when his access was cut off.

According to his support group, Brown still has telephone privileges.

Let’s see how long before he loses those.

Caveat to California's Water Restrictions

Gov. Jerry Brown has ordered residents and non-agricultural businesses to cut water use by 25 percent in the first mandatory statewide reduction in the state’s history. One group not facing restrictions under the new rules is big agriculture, which uses about 80 percent of California’s water.

  Democracy Now!

But of course. Let’s ask: how much of big agriculture’s production goes overseas?

Also, no cap on oil extraction industries....but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Too Skinny

The French parliament has voted to ban ultra-thin catwalk models, despite protests from modelling agencies in the world’s fashion capital.

Anyone whose body mass index is below a certain level will not be able to work as a catwalk model, according to the amendment voted in by the national assembly.

Agencies found to employ models considered too thin could face a fine of up to €75,000 (£55,000) and six months in prison.

  The Guardian

How do you jail an agency?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

First Time?

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) is ordering the state’s first mandatory water use restrictions in an effort to cut consumption by 25 percent.

Brown’s executive order, issued Wednesday, restricts watering grass lawns, cemeteries, golf courses and grass in street medians while implementing new pricing models at water utilities designed to discourage overuse.

It’s the latest effort by California officials to cope with the state’s historic drought, which is in its fourth year and shows few signs of receding.

Brown announced the new restrictions Wednesday in a grassy area of the Sierra Nevada mountains that is usually covered with feet of snow at this time of year, the Los Angeles Times reported.

  The Hill

If this is the first time, what were those water restrictions when I lived in San Francisco in the 70s where we were fined if we used more than a personal water use allotment?

UPDATE:  http://youwillanyway2.blogspot.com/2015/04/caveat-to-californias-water-restrictions.html

Presumably a Firing Offense

[An] accidental email went to organizers of the Asian Cup soccer tournament. It had the details of all top leaders that had attended the G-20 summit, an annual global policy meeting.

[...]

[T]he mistaken email exposed the personal details of 31 world leaders, including President Obama.

[...]

“[Redacted] failed to check that the autofill function in Microsoft Outlook had entered the correct person’s details into the email ‘To’ field,” the email continued. “This led to the email being sent to the wrong person.”

The exposed data included not only names and dates of birth, but passport numbers and visa details as well.

On Monday, White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz told reporters the administration is “looking into [the reports], and we’ll take all appropriate steps necessary to ensure the privacy and security of the president’s personal information.”

  The Hill

A little late, would you say?

...but hey, it could happen to anyone, right [Redacted]?

Oh My

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

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