September 30, 2010

StuxNet Paranoia

Chris Carter writes in the US Report that the StuxNet virus that infected the Iranian nuclear power plant may also make the Iranians paranoid.

American companies are under constant cyber-attack by the Chinese... it's a story the culture-obsessed media is failing to cover. The attacks are like a buzzing of gnats all around our business culture and it take constant effort to protect our computers and data from theft and destruction.

But just as when modern American warfare capabilities were put on full display in the Gulf Wars and Afghanistan and it became clear what smart-bomb technology can/could/did do to our enemies -- taking them apart with the precision of a circus knife thrower, so this StuxNet virus shows what truly advanced cyber warfare looks like. We don't know, today, which Iranian enemy planted the virus, but let's hope it's either us, or an ally of ours. And let's hope that along with the development of this virus (which can wreak havoc on systems controlling infrastructure) an antidote was developed, as well.

Iranians seek help, but no white flag yet.

There's Two Sides to Every Story

The Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers, how they lived, what they have achieved.  A lengthy, interesting article.

Can Obamacare be Repealed?

With the news that McDonald's will drop its workers off its popular mini-health-care plan due to the new Health Care law unless they get a waiver, it becomes clear that the longer Congress waits to repeal the Health Care overhaul, the harder it will be to undo what's been done, especially when more and more businesses drop their employees and pay the default fines.

Godspeed Tony Curtis

Tony Curtis has passed away at 85, pictured above with his one-time wife, Janet Leigh and daughters Jamie Lee and Kelly Curtis.

I loved him as Houdini, didn't you?

September 25, 2010

The Military and UFO's

Members of the military are meeting at the National Press Club in Washington to discuss their encounters with UFO's.  Should be interesting.

September 24, 2010

Christopher Coates Testifies

A Justice Department prosecutor is blowing the whistle on the Justice Department's voting rights division.

American Hero negates a year of Justice Department spin

He has practiced voting rights law longer than any other lawyer at the Justice Department. His testimony today was the worst possible nightmare for the Obama political officials responsible for the dismissal.


September 23, 2010

Has the US attacked Iran?

Malicious Computer Worm Launched at Industrial Targets

The Stuxnet computer worm spreads through previously unknown holes in MicroSoft's Windows operating system and then looks for a type of software made by Siemans and used to control industrial components, including valves and brakes.

Stuxnet can hide itself, wait for certain conditions and give new orders to the components that reverse what they would normally do, the experts said. At a closed-door conference this week in Maryland, Ralph Langner, a German industrial controls safety expert, said Stuxnet might be targeting not a sector but perhaps only one plant, and he speculated that it could be a controversial nuclear facility in Iran.

According to Symantec, which has been investigating the virus and plans to publish details of the rogue commands on Wednesday, Iran has had far more infections than any other country.

Interesting.

September 22, 2010

Anyone got any Lipstick?

President Obama shows off his prize pig.

"No, she's not a pig, she's my signature legislative achievement, and she's six months old today... Anyone got any lipstick?"

September 10, 2010

Martian Ice

Water ice in crater at Martian North Pole, picture taken in February, 2005.  I don't remember seeing this, at the time.  The frozen water covers several miles of the crater.

via TYWKIWDBI

September 9, 2010

Norwell vs. Bellmont at Lucas Oil

Norwell's had a rough start to the football season, defeating Heritage, but falling to Carroll and Leo. Let's hope they can put the hurt on Bellmont when they meet down in Indy at the Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday 9/11 at 1:45pm.

Burning Books

A pastor at an itty-bitty church in Florida says he's gonna burn copies of the Koran. He's visited by the FBI, the President of the United States asks him to not do it, the Pope asks him not to do it, the Attorney General of the United States calls him an idiot, the American Secretary of State calls him disgraceful. the top American General in the Army tells him he's endangering American troops, Religious and political leaders across the Muslim world tell him he's putting Christians and Americans in harms way across the globe...  

I suspect he's made his point. None of these important people see Islam as a religion of peace, but they keep on telling us it is.  It appears the emperor has no clothes and all it took to prove it was one little church in Florida pointing it out.

September 8, 2010

Student Loan Bubble

A nice article on the soon-to-possibly-burst studen loan bubble.  Just how long can we go on paying $65-100 thousand for a degree that pays $25-30 thousand a year?  Just how many defaults will it take before the whole industry collapses of its own weight?  In 20 years, when our grandkids are headed to college, will our children still be paying on their own loans?

September 3, 2010

The Milky Way

The Milky Way, as seen in Death Valley, California

Mr. Unpopular

Elkhart remembers a different Barack Obama...

A sense of disappointment, bordering on betrayal, has been growing across the country, especially in moderate states like Indiana, where people now openly say they didn't quite understand the President they voted for in 2008. The fear most often expressed is that Obama is taking the country somewhere they don't want to go. "We bought what he said. He offered a lot of hope," says Fred Ferlic, an Obama voter and orthopedic surgeon in South Bend who has since soured on his choice. Ferlic talks about the messy compromises in health care reform, his sense of an inhospitable business climate and the growth of government spending under Obama. "He's trying to Europeanize us, and the Europeans are going the other way," continues Ferlic, a former Democratic campaign donor who plans to vote Republican this year. "The entire American spirit is being broken."

I don't think the American Spirit is broken yet, but if Republicans are elected in November and continue down the Bush path of Government Control and Growth, it won't be long.

Consensus no more...

The United Nations Climate Panel is being challenged by other scientific groups on their lack of science...

What does the best evidence now tell us? That man-made global warming is a mere hypothesis that has been inflated by both exaggeration and downright malfeasance, fueled by the awarding of fat grants and salaries to any scientist who'll produce the "right" results.

Finally, someone is mentioning the monetary incentives given to scientists for "believing" in man-made global warming.

September 1, 2010

Knights Netters 7-0

The Norwell Boys Tennis Team improved to 7-0 on the season, defeating Huntington North 5-0.

Since Huntington South, Huntington East and Huntington West High Schools don't exist, the Norwell boys can cross Huntington off their list and move on.