http://www.twincities.com/

Troy Molde awoke at 3 a.m. Thursday to police flashlights shining in his face. Two uniformed Lakeville officers were in his bedroom, knocking on the wall to wake him up.They were there, they said, to warn him to keep his doors closed and locked.

Their surprise visit was part of a public service campaign. Officers had fanned out across the city, leaving notices on doors to remind residents how to prevent thefts by keeping garage doors closed, not leaving valuables in cars and locking windows or doors.

But at Molde’s house, they went further. His two sons, ages 5 and 7, and 5-year-old twin nephews were having a sleepover in the living room. They awoke to find the officers in the house.
“I was violated, but … I wasn’t physically damaged,” Molde said of what he considers an invasion of privacy.

The officers told Molde his garage door was open, the TV was on, keys to his truck were left in the ignition and the door to his house was ajar.

Police said the intrusion was justified because the officers’ initial door knocks went unanswered. Police went inside to check if anything was wrong, Sgt. Jim Puncochar said.
He said the kids were afraid to wake their dad, so the officers went upstairs.

“It really was suspicious,” Puncochar said. But Molde, 34, said he went upstairs to bed at midnight. Molde didn’t shut the garage door, and he remembers leaving the doors to his house closed — but unlocked.

The kids fell asleep watching TV. Three hours later, he had police in his bedroom. He immediately thought something was wrong. “I was just dazed,” said the 34-year-old dad.
“It’s not a safe way of (police) protection.”

An invasion of privacy? I’d say so. I’m curious as to if the door was left ajar in the first place, especially since the owner said he left the door to his house closed. I’m also interested if the police even knocked at all. My suggestion is that the town of Lakeview rethink this “program” before someone gets injured. Neighborhood inspections like this one have the capacity to escalate quickly and violently if a homeowner hears an intruder, feels threatened and grabs a weapon for protection–a baseball bat, a lead pipe, or a gun. I also fear that if this program continues, more doors may be left “ajar” as a means of excusing a warrantless search.

http://news.scotsman.com/…

Under a national law that came into effect two months ago, companies and local governments must measure the waistlines of Japanese people between the ages of 40 and 74 as part of their annual check-ups. That represents more than 56 million waistlines, or about 44% of the entire population.

Those exceeding government limits and suffering from a weight-related ailment will be given dieting guidance if, after three months, they do not lose weight. If necessary, those people will be steered towards further re-education after six more months.

The limits of 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women are identical to thresholds established in 2005 for Japan by the International Diabetes Federation as an easy guideline for identifying health risks.

To reach its goals of shrinking the overweight population by 10% over the next four years and 25% over the next seven years, the government will impose financial penalties on companies and local governments that fail to meet specific targets. The country’s Ministry of Health argues that the campaign will keep the spread of diseases like diabetes and strokes in check.

With the new law, Matsushita has to measure the waistlines of not only its employees but also their families and pensioners. As part of its intensifying efforts, the company has started giving its employees “metabo check” towels that double as tape measures.

Companies like Matsushita must measure the waistlines of at least 80% of their employees and get 10% of those deemed metabolic to lose weight by 2012.

NEC, Japan’s largest maker of PCs, said that if it failed to meet its targets, it could incur £9.7m in penalties.

Penalties and re-education for being too fat? What exactly would this re-education entail? I’d imagine it’s not optional and the fines will just be passed on to the general public.

This whole “problem” goes away by letting people be responsible for themselves and their healthcare.

http://wnd.com/…

Two new directives signed by President Bush establish sweeping authority for federal executive departments and agencies to establish a coordinated “framework” to collect and retain biometric data on U.S. citizens identified as “known and suspected terrorists,” without requiring public or congressional disclosure of the procedures.

Although the directives run over 1,700 words in length, Congress is not mentioned once, nor is there any specification of how the coordinated “framework” will be disclosed to the public.

WND contacted the White House press office for comment but received no return call.

The directives also do not specify any procedures for citizens to challenge their inclusion in the biometric database or any resulting consequences, such as restricted travel or additional government surveillance.

How is it that something so large can be put into place without the say of Congress? Obviously while the executive branch is given funds by the legislative and not all ways in which the money will be spent can be tagged by them you would think something this intensive would get some nod from those who hold the purse and pass law. But no. As we have seen time and time again from Lincoln to G.W. Bush the executive branch thinks itself supreme and obviously above the law.

I suspect that this will be challenged right quick by the EFF and/or ACLU and if we’re lucky it’d be shot down.

http://www.ft.com/…

“Something is seriously wrong when the American people are left to bear the consequences of reckless corporate conduct, while the offenders themselves are packed off with another $40m or $50m for the road,” he said. “If I am elected president, I intend to see that wrongdoing of this kind is called to account by federal prosecutors. And under my reforms, all aspects of a CEO’s pay, including any severance arrangements, must be approved by shareholders.”

Doesn’t that effectively happen now? If you are a shareholder you generally have voting rights in the way things are run. Even then if you don’t like what is occuring don’t become a shareholder. Seems pretty obvious to me that just like with any business… the investors are the ones in control in the end. Whether the investor is the customer buying the final product or the shareholders funding their creation. You don’t like what is being done… take you money elsewhere.

Part 2, Part 3