First, it is important to note that I am not American but my wife (Democrat) is. I am therefore directly affected and involved as a result of this.

On a side note, it is great to be treated like a criminal each time I arrive 'home'. There will be a further slap in the face when I have to advise them in advance of my arrival later this year.

Obama has supported the FISA vote despite knowing that the current President's actions of phone tapping were in direct breach of the law and therefore illegal. The immunity for telecommunication companies is irrelevant here.

What IS relevant is the Constitution, the Fourth Amendment, and the Rule of Law. From the Wikipedia entry re the Fourth:

(LINK: Link )

"...judicially sanctioned search and arrest warrants must be supported by probable cause and be limited in scope according to specific information supplied by a person (usually a peace officer) who has sworn by it and is therefore accountable to the issuing court."

When Obama is President it his duty (under oath) to defend the Constitution and uphold the law. Knowing that someone has committed a felony and failing to act upon this is, I believe, a felony in itself.

I wonder what Mr. Obama's intentions are with regard to overturning some of the egregious actions that the present incumbent has enacted, what he intends to do with regard to restoring the Constitution to its true status, ensuring he represents and represents the TRUE will of the American people.

I am sure this extract from the DoI is familiar:

"He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance."

Sound familiar?

Justice and the Rule of Law should prevail. Mr. Obama, by agreeing to the FISA bill is clearly acting against the will of the people. Voters should remember that and be asking Mr. Obama his position regarding the upholding of the Rule of Law.

Show by your actions that you WILL 'hold [YOUR] leader's accountable' and not use 'I cannot promise to agree...' as a syntactical get out clause.

As a European with an American wife I use the Jura S90. It has a feature that allows you to throw out an espresso OR a bucket beaker to suit my morning jolt requirements. Italian coffee is good, Spanish coffee better, but French coffee??? almost as bad as the excuses for coffee I have experienced in America... ;-) flame......troll.....flame (only kidding.

One oversight for me is that it appears designed for right-handed people.

Put simply, the comments made by the Home Secretary have placed what was a clearly understood situation "yes, you can take photos" into a 'well, it MIGHT be OK but you will not necessarily know until we decide to bust you' nightmare. I am sure that memo's will be coming down from Chief Constables with 'guidelines' for questioning photographers. this will not be 'law' but advice from a CC. The general public will discover these guidelines when they get arrested for 'failing to obey an officer' who will be enforcing the opinion/interpretation of the Home Secretary.

Every tin-pot personal dictator (not police but Joe Public) will be going "What do you think you are doing? Don't you know the Home Secretary says you cannot do that" and essentially being 'nosey-parkers.

Conflict at a social level for something that is still legal but might not be.

This is total FUD.

REMEMBER - Careless Snapshots Costs Lives.

60% of 36 people is... err whoah 21.6 Now THAT is weird...

A minor detail. Was the music bought for the sake of the music? If so, was it any good.

"and both rely on background scans of ID3 tags"

Does this mean it does not play or what? Not ONE person has mentioned the music. It is, after all, about the music.............

Forget about the bullet-proof glass. Think of the noise a gun will make in such a confined space when it is fired. Another important point to all of the nay-sayers regarding this delight... you have to remember that, in the olden days, people moved more quicker than today. This can be evidenced in some of the classic black and white movies such as 'The Keystone Cops' and others of a similar ilk. Therefore, this item was already obsolete before it had even been made. Now that goes beyond steam-punk. Any suggestions for this genre?

I think that some photos would be of benefit

I have always thought it strange that, since the occupancy of Afghanistan by the military forces, opium production has increased by an incredible percentage.

This could be an 'All American" replacement for water boarding perhaps... plus you get to have a snack during your break from the breaks...

CIA = Cookies In Action