Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Ecuador says it found a hidden microphone at its London embassy
Ecuador has found a hidden microphone inside its London embassy, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is living, and will disclose on Wednesday who controls the device, its foreign minister said.
Obama photo-op FAIL: “Door of No Return” actually a garbage chute
Via Angry Mike
They call it “optics.”
The White House has a team of people – you taxpayers foot the bill, of course – that spends its days thinking of the best way to portray the president in the most favorable light.
(“Maybe we should snap him riding a bike in Hawaii?” “Let’s snap him playing hoops!” “His 122nd round of golf? No cameras please.”)
But sometimes, they snooze. Like last week, when The Team let the president step out – for the cameras – at the Door of No Return.
Now, President George W. Bush stood at the very same spot in 2003, but at a different place entirely – stunning party pickups in the 2002 midterms, majority in the House and Senate, headed to re- election, on the top of the world. It was a picture, nothing more.
Thursday, though, was some very bad “optics.” President Obama, standing alone, morose, looking down, sullen, mock contemplative, within the Door of No Return. Below him, rust-stained cinder blocks, craggy rocks of a shallow port, the Atlantic Ocean.
At another time, meaningless. But at this precise moment, a few frames that encapsulate the president, now, and his plight in millions of ways – far beyond the few million megapixels.
First, the scene wasn’t what it seemed. While the Huffington Post called it “very powerful moment” – the president standing at a doorway in Senegal from which Africans were said to have been shipped across the ocean into American slavery – it was not that at all.
He was, in fact, standing at a garbage chute.
They call it “optics.”
The White House has a team of people – you taxpayers foot the bill, of course – that spends its days thinking of the best way to portray the president in the most favorable light.
(“Maybe we should snap him riding a bike in Hawaii?” “Let’s snap him playing hoops!” “His 122nd round of golf? No cameras please.”)
But sometimes, they snooze. Like last week, when The Team let the president step out – for the cameras – at the Door of No Return.
Now, President George W. Bush stood at the very same spot in 2003, but at a different place entirely – stunning party pickups in the 2002 midterms, majority in the House and Senate, headed to re- election, on the top of the world. It was a picture, nothing more.
Thursday, though, was some very bad “optics.” President Obama, standing alone, morose, looking down, sullen, mock contemplative, within the Door of No Return. Below him, rust-stained cinder blocks, craggy rocks of a shallow port, the Atlantic Ocean.
At another time, meaningless. But at this precise moment, a few frames that encapsulate the president, now, and his plight in millions of ways – far beyond the few million megapixels.
First, the scene wasn’t what it seemed. While the Huffington Post called it “very powerful moment” – the president standing at a doorway in Senegal from which Africans were said to have been shipped across the ocean into American slavery – it was not that at all.
He was, in fact, standing at a garbage chute.
More @ GOP USA
Some Thoughts on the Snowden Fallout
Via Wes
The Guardian just published new revelations on past and ongoing data sniffing by the National Security Agency on foreigners as well as U.S. citizens. For now I do not have time to go into those and will leave it to emptywheel and others to comment on them.
But lets think a bit of what all these revelations mean for the NSA and for Snowden's future.
Snowden had system administrator access to a whole bunch, if not all, of network and server equipment at the NSA. Sysadmin access means being in total control of the machine. While a typical Unix computer like those the NSA uses, typically logs all access events a sysadmin can hide that he accessed a machine, loaded stuff up and down or started or stopped this or that process.
Unless the NSA is using some unknown super-tool to supervise and log what its sysadmins do (and who would system administrate that tool?) it will have no clear idea what systems Snowden actually accessed or what he did to those machines.
It is the worst case any Chief Information Officer can think about. What did Snowden take? Did he leave some virus? Did he leave some logic time bomb that could wipe out anything it reaches.
The NSA's damage assessment team will also have lots of questions. What papers or files does Snowden have? What does he know additionally to what is in those files? Who might he have given those files to? Only the Guardian and the Washington Post? What about the Chinese and the Russians? They sure would love to have copies. What about the encrypted "insurance files" Snowden gave to "some people" who will be able to open and publish them should someone capture or kill him?
There are so many questions to ponder. Even if Snowden did not talk with the Chinese and Russian secret services the NSA will have to assume that he did and that they now have access to all the material Snowden acquired including, possibly, secret U.S. communication codes.
In short: For the next years at least the NSA is.......
The Guardian just published new revelations on past and ongoing data sniffing by the National Security Agency on foreigners as well as U.S. citizens. For now I do not have time to go into those and will leave it to emptywheel and others to comment on them.
But lets think a bit of what all these revelations mean for the NSA and for Snowden's future.
Snowden had system administrator access to a whole bunch, if not all, of network and server equipment at the NSA. Sysadmin access means being in total control of the machine. While a typical Unix computer like those the NSA uses, typically logs all access events a sysadmin can hide that he accessed a machine, loaded stuff up and down or started or stopped this or that process.
Unless the NSA is using some unknown super-tool to supervise and log what its sysadmins do (and who would system administrate that tool?) it will have no clear idea what systems Snowden actually accessed or what he did to those machines.
It is the worst case any Chief Information Officer can think about. What did Snowden take? Did he leave some virus? Did he leave some logic time bomb that could wipe out anything it reaches.
| Where? |
The NSA's damage assessment team will also have lots of questions. What papers or files does Snowden have? What does he know additionally to what is in those files? Who might he have given those files to? Only the Guardian and the Washington Post? What about the Chinese and the Russians? They sure would love to have copies. What about the encrypted "insurance files" Snowden gave to "some people" who will be able to open and publish them should someone capture or kill him?
There are so many questions to ponder. Even if Snowden did not talk with the Chinese and Russian secret services the NSA will have to assume that he did and that they now have access to all the material Snowden acquired including, possibly, secret U.S. communication codes.
In short: For the next years at least the NSA is.......
More @ LRC
Guilty of Being Southern
Via Terry
Over the years, my African-American friends have shared with me stories of the senseless traffic stops they’ve endured for nothing more than driving while black. There’s an acronym for it: DWB. They admit it happens less than it used to, but it’s wrong, it’s bad, and Americans should not face a presumption of guilt for being who they are.
Which is why Paula Deen and the recent U.S. Supreme Court case involving the Voting Rights Act make for an interesting counterpoint. Both stories involve what’s perhaps the last socially acceptable form of bigotry left in America: bigotry against the South. It’s a brand of bigotry reinforced by our nation’s biggest media outlets — and by justices on the Supreme Court.
Let’s start with Paula Deen,
Over the years, my African-American friends have shared with me stories of the senseless traffic stops they’ve endured for nothing more than driving while black. There’s an acronym for it: DWB. They admit it happens less than it used to, but it’s wrong, it’s bad, and Americans should not face a presumption of guilt for being who they are.
Which is why Paula Deen and the recent U.S. Supreme Court case involving the Voting Rights Act make for an interesting counterpoint. Both stories involve what’s perhaps the last socially acceptable form of bigotry left in America: bigotry against the South. It’s a brand of bigotry reinforced by our nation’s biggest media outlets — and by justices on the Supreme Court.
More @ NRO
III to III – Affordable body armor plates
Via WiscoDave
Patriot Plate
What’s offered: Full sets of Mil-A-46100 NIJ III plate armor to include 2 10×12 front/back plates and 2 6×8 side plates. You will also get a 4×5 test plate for your shooting amusement. Angle cuts made on front/back plates to facilitate weapon usage. (REMEMBER that all sizes and dimensions are nominal – they’ll be close but…)
How this came about: I was looking for a set of armor for myself. I was looking at $400.00 and trying to figure out how to explain that to my wife. I’ve been in the metals analysis testing/foundry field for over 30 years and figured there had to be a less expensive way to do this.
Research showed me that I could purchase and cut armor from .25″ 4×8 sheets and significantly reduce the armor cost. Two types of plate came to mind: Mil-A-46100 and AR500. Both are good materials. Mil spec is about $200 more per sheet but I feel that it is a better material for this application.
Pricing: I want to be open and honest about this so no one can feel that they weren’t dealt with on a reasonable basis.
Patriot Plate
What’s offered: Full sets of Mil-A-46100 NIJ III plate armor to include 2 10×12 front/back plates and 2 6×8 side plates. You will also get a 4×5 test plate for your shooting amusement. Angle cuts made on front/back plates to facilitate weapon usage. (REMEMBER that all sizes and dimensions are nominal – they’ll be close but…)
How this came about: I was looking for a set of armor for myself. I was looking at $400.00 and trying to figure out how to explain that to my wife. I’ve been in the metals analysis testing/foundry field for over 30 years and figured there had to be a less expensive way to do this.
Research showed me that I could purchase and cut armor from .25″ 4×8 sheets and significantly reduce the armor cost. Two types of plate came to mind: Mil-A-46100 and AR500. Both are good materials. Mil spec is about $200 more per sheet but I feel that it is a better material for this application.
Pricing: I want to be open and honest about this so no one can feel that they weren’t dealt with on a reasonable basis.
More @ Knuckledraggin' My Life Away
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)