Monday, April 15, 2002

The announcement about an inspection of my apartment building that I mentioned on Tuesday had "City of Los Angeles Code Enforcement" letterhead. Apparently since 1998 the City Council has authorized its agents to conduct these "inspections." No doubt the members of the LA City Council are unaware of the Fourth Amendment, which states that they may not do any such thing. Or if they are aware, the aren't concerned with the rights of apartment-dwellers, since they are all rich and living in houses. A friend suggested that when the inspector finds someone at home, he or she will ask to search, like a cop trying to manipulate a motorist into consenting to a vehicle search. I suspect he's right, but there are many very disturbing things about the letter. It was taped to the outside of the building, next to the front door--only someone entering that way would see it. Most of the people who live here enter through the garage, and wouldn't even have noticed it. What's more, it was gone after two days, so there wasn't much opportunity to notice it. The letter was in English only, which is even more disturbing. Some of the tenants in my building speak only Korean, and English is a second language for many others. What's more, this is true for many of the apartment buildings in Los Angeles. A warning that can't be read is no warning at all. The leter stated that the search would begin at 2 PM--a time when most residents will be at their jobs. This means that, besides giving as little notice as possible, the government is ensuring that there will be few people accidentally around to defend their privacy. What this amounts to is the government conducting warrantless searches and hiding the fact from its victims. There has been no public attention given to this, either--I've seen nothing in the paper. That's not really surprising, though. The LA Times is all in favor of shredding the Constitution as long as their own First Amendment rights (but not anyone elses) are secure. I will be staying home from work tomorrow, to protect my apartment. I will demand a warrant and ID from the government agent, and refuse to allow a search if one is not forthcoming. Since the government doesn't like to hear "no," I've also found a lawyer to call if a search warrant is forthcoming. comment () trackback ()  10:17:03 PM     Needing Israel. It is hard to describe what 14 soldiers means in this small country. People make frantic calls to find out... [The news, Uncensored.] On Tuesday night, my 12-year-old son, Avi, told me about a Yom Hashoah class discussion about whether the Holocaust could happen again ÷ a session he said he found "stupid." Why? I asked. "Because we have a strong army," he answered, "America is our friend, and look out there now ÷ we take care of ourselves." The next morning I watched him head off on his bike to school, with pride, security and confidence. That's a lot more than Jewish kids in Europe had a few decades ago. It's a lot more than some Jewish kids have in Europe this week. It's why we need this country. And it's why we'll fight to keep it. Good editorial about why it's important for Israel to fight back, and to win. comment () trackback ()  3:30:08 PM     Poet of hate. From telegraph.co.uk: "Oxford poet 'wants US Jews shot' The Board of Deputies of British Jews is considering making a complaint... [The news, Uncensored.] The Board of Deputies of British Jews is considering making a complaint to the police over a newspaper interview with the poet Tom Paulin in which he is reported as saying that American-born settlers in Israel should be shot dead. It's none of my business what the British do (although I personally believe in freedom of speech). However, the US government should take note that this character has openly advocated the murder of US citizens. I certainly hope that he's put on the list of people to not allow into the country. comment () trackback ()  1:19:16 PM     Arafat and the bombs. Israel has handed the United States evidence found in Palestinian Authority compounds that proves Yasser Arafat and his security forces... [The news, Uncensored.] There's a link here to scans of the documents captured from Arafat's headquarters. In Arabic, of course, but there are English translations. comment () trackback ()  1:02:39 PM     Fatah Commander Marwan Barghouti arrested by Isreal. "Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti was arrested Monday evening by an elite IDF unit in Ramallah. Barghouti is considered one of... [The news, Uncensored.] And finally, we have the Israeli version, which includes some of Barghouti's public comments advocating terrorism and refers to physical evidence against him in the form of captured documents. comment () trackback ()  12:55:22 PM     Israeli forces seize leading Palestinian. Israel captures the Palestinian leader it regards as the driving force behind the suicide bombings on its people. [BBC News: world] Note that in the European version of the same story, the reason why Barghouti was wanted by the Israelis is buried well down in the story, and stated in such a way ("Israelis blame...denies the charges") as to cast doubt on their reasons. comment () trackback ()  12:50:02 PM     Israel Captures Key Arafat Aide. Israeli troops on Monday captured Marwan Barghouti, a close aide to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and a leader of a group that has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks against Israel, including suicide bombings. [AP World News] This is as close as I've seen the US media get to admitting that Arafat is directly responsible for the terrorist attacks. comment () trackback ()  12:41:33 PM

© Copyright 2006 Ken Hagler. Last update: 2/14/2006; 6:49:39 PM.

Email