Friday, August 31, 2007

Follow-up on “They Don’t Like Pal to Pal” - They Still Don’t Like Us

Last week I posted about getting turned down as a potential advertiser for Vonage VoIP phone service. As it turned out, my application wasn’t to Vonage but to their affiliate handler, Performics. The day after I posted my rant, Performics did an about face and said they turned us down in error. So, not one to hold a grudge, I went ahead and applied to Vonage through the Performics system. Today we got turned down again by Vonage for the stupidest reason, in my opinion. Their email says:

Your application may have been declined because it’s not a good match for Vonage. Specifically, Vonage is looking for sites with a well-built out telecommunications section, featuring a number of telecommunications providers.

How dumb is that? They only want to advertise where their competitors advertise? Again is that not the stoopid-est marketing strategy you’ve ever heard about? Here, they would have had a site run by someone who has been a very satisfied Vonage customer for close to two years. I would have extolled their virtues and provided a real link to a satisfied customer who could speak to all the good, the bad or the inbetween without an agenda other than wanting others to benefit. But, instead, this whole experience has left me with a very sour taste and so mad, I want to cancel my own service and look for an alternative. Was that their goal, to lose good customers so they can have an ad war with their competitors? Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Noon Temperature Check

Backyard thermometer reads 112 degrees, Weatherbug temp that comes from a small private airport about 8 miles away says 109 degrees. Either one says it is hot. Hot and unusually humid for the high desert of So. California. They said it is the left over from Hurricane Dean. We’ve had alot of lightening and thunder and a couple of days of afternoon rain that last about 2 minutes and then hangs around in the form of high humidity for the rest of the night.

Soldiers Get Pro-active in a Very Cool Kind of Way

This story is too funny. And you just gotta love our soldiers.

Here is the meat of the story:

The sheets of paper seemed to be everywhere the lawmakers went in the Green Zone, distributed to Iraqi officials, U.S. officials and uniformed military of no particular rank. So when Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) asked a soldier last weekend just what he was holding, the congressman was taken aback to find out.

In the soldier’s hand was a thumbnail biography, distributed before each of the congressmen’s meetings in Baghdad, which let meeting participants such as that soldier know where each of the lawmakers stands on the war. “Moran on Iraq policy,” read one section, going on to cite some the congressman’s most incendiary statements, such as, “This has been the worst foreign policy fiasco in American history.”

The bio of Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif.)—“TAU [rhymes with ‘now’] - sher,” the bio helpfully relates—was no less pointed, even if she once supported the war and has taken heat from liberal Bay Area constituents who remain wary of her position. “Our forces are caught in the middle of an escalating sectarian conflict in Iraq, with no end in sight,” the bio quotes.

“This is beyond parsing. This is being slimed in the Green Zone,” Tauscher said of her bio.

Huh? Telling the truth is sliming? Since when? Since it is an anti-war, anti-military defeatist dem calling it slime. I say more power to the soldiers for calling it like it is.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Another Day in Iraq #45

• Coalition Outpost Washash established

• Task Force Lightning Soldier attacked

• Dragons found house rigged to explode, caches

• Concerned citizen leads Coalition Forces to large cache of nitric acid

• Iraqi Security Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain 16 al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists

• Two terrorists killed, 29 suspects detained; Coalition disrupts al-Qaeda ops

• MND-B Soldiers attacked during combat operations

• Iraqi Police receive tip of car bombs in Kirkuk

• Four suspected insurgents captured in eastern Baghdad

• Coalition Forces detain, later release individuals

• Iraqi Special Operations Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain suspected rogue JAM battalion commander,

• MNC-I Soldier targeted during combat operations

RELATED:

Part III of IV of Michael Yon’s piece “The Ghosts of Anbar” is now up. 

Based on This Audio Tape, Senator Craig Should Not Resign

I was already starting to get angry at how Republican leadership is ready to dump a good man who has been a good Senator throughout the years. Now that I’ve heard the police tape, I am convinced that Craig should stand tough. This whole thing is bull crap and another example of police intimidation and threats and, it would seem lies, in order to get someone. Craig would have had to be a contortionist to reach under the stall with his left hand when you consider that his stall was to the LEFT of the stall he supposedly reached into. Not only that, but his wheely bag was sitting in front of him, making the squeeze to reach across even harder to do. Craig is obviously more concerned with making his flight and seems to take their word that this is not much of a big deal. How many of us have accepted/signed a traffic citation so we can hurry on our way, especially if we are already late for work, rather than refuse to sign and insist on being taken to jail so we can fight it. We sign and pay the fine.

Craig is getting a raw deal and the Republicans calling for his resignation are the ones who should shut up or be criticized. I am sick to death of this gotcha back stabbing.

You can make up your own mind, since I tend to believe cops are arrogant liars and I have a built in bias.

LISTEN TO AUDIO TAPE HERE

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn’t a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

           - - - “First they came…” is a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

Note to Shepherd Smith of Fox and some of the other shriekers, watch out, you could be CREW’s next victim.

Possible Remains of Second Temple Found in Jerusalem

This is big news! Archaeologists have suspected known that if they could excavate under the Dome of the Rock, they would find the remains of the Jewish Temple(s) that earlier stood on the spot.

• Possible remains of second temple found in Jerusalem

Remains of the Jewish second temple may have been found during work to lay pipes at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem, Israeli television reported Thursday.

Israeli television broadcast footage of a mechanical digger at the site which Israeli archaeologists visited on Thursday.

Gaby Barkai, an archaeologist from Bar Ilan University, urged the Israeli government to stop the pipework after the discovery of what he said is “a massive seven metre-long wall.”

Television said the pipework carried out by the office of Muslim religious affairs, or Waqf, is about 1.5 metres deep and about 100 metres long.

The compound, which houses both Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, is located in east Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967 and then annexed. It is the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina.

For Jews it as known as the Temple Mount, which they revere as the site of the King Herod’s second temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. It is the holiest site in Judaism.

All that remains today is the temple’s Western Wall, or Wailing wall.

In War or Life, it is Always about Sex and Women

I found this post at Small World Journal absolutely fascinating. When it comes right down to it, gals, even in a male dominated society like Islam, women control how men act. Of course, you knew that, right? A recommended read, so read it all.

Some aspects of the war in Iraq are hard to fit into “classical” models of insurgency. One of these is the growing tribal uprising against al Qa’ida, which could transform the war in ways not factored into neat “benchmarks” developed many months ago and thousands of miles away. I spent time out on the ground during May and June working with coalition units, tribal leaders and fighters engaged in the uprising, so I felt a few field observations might be of interest to the Small Wars community. I apologize in advance for the epic length of this post, but it’s a complex issue, so I hope people will forgive my long-windedness. Like much else, it’s too early to know how this new development will play out. But surprisingly (surprising to me, anyway), indications so far are relatively positive.

To understand what follows, you need to realize that Iraqi tribes are not somehow separate, out in the desert, or remote: rather, they are powerful interest groups that permeate Iraqi society. More than 85% of Iraqis claim some form of tribal affiliation; tribal identity is a parallel, informal but powerful sphere of influence in the community. Iraqi tribal leaders represent a competing power center, and the tribes themselves are a parallel hierarchy that overlaps with formal government structures and political allegiances. Most Iraqis wear their tribal selves beside other strands of identity (religious, ethnic, regional, socio-economic) that interact in complex ways, rendering meaningless the facile division into Sunni, Shi’a and Kurdish groups that distant observers sometimes perceive. The reality of Iraqi national character is much more complex than that, and tribal identity plays an extremely important part in it, even for urbanized Iraqis. Thus the tribal revolt is not some remote riot on a reservation: it’s a major social movement that could significantly influence most Iraqis where they live.

Birth of the revolt

The uprising began last year, far out in western Anbar province, but is now affecting about 40% of the country. It has spread to Ninewa, Diyala, Babil, Salah-ad-Din, Baghdad and – intriguingly – is filtering into Shi’a communities in the South. The Iraqi government was in on it from the start; our Iraqi intelligence colleagues predicted, well before we realized it, that Anbar was going to “flip”, with tribal leaders turning toward the government and away from extremists.

Some tribal leaders told me that the split started over women.

Read more

[Emphasis added]

Laugh of the Day Video

Okay Everyone, tune up, here we go ...

(H/T: BMEWS)

[Warning: language alert]

Have Some Fun and See How Posh You Are

Meet the Princess!

See how posh you look, play around and have some fun at My Posh Twin

(H/T: Presurfer)

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Laugh of the Day

I love Obama bumper sticker, stuffed eagles on the trunk, elephant on the hood ... pranksters wrap Karl Rove’s car in plastic wrap and have some fun.

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WASHINGTON — Karl Rove, your car is ready.

White House pranksters wrapped Rove’s Jaguar in plastic wrap on the private driveway next to the West Wing. Rove’s car is easily recognizable because of its “I love Barack Obama” bumper sticker and the twin stuffed-animal eagles on the trunk. Oh, and there’s a stuffed-animal elephant on the hood.

Rove, the top White House political strategist who recently announced his resignation, left his car on the driveway while visiting Texas and traveling with President Bush. He was due back in Washington Wednesday evening.

Iraq - The Big Picture or Why Establishment Media Has Failed Miserably

Karl, a regular guest blogger at Protein Wisdom, has a long (very long) post, with a gazillion links, up this morning on the big picture in Iraq and attempts to reason why the establishment media has missed the Iraq story so badly. It is a post that I’m flagging as a MUST READ. Bob Owens calls it: ”Quite frankly, this is perhaps one of the more comprehensive explanations of the media’s failures in covering the Iraq War that I’ve seen to date,”
and I 100% agree.

In the midst of the still-lingering controversy over the truthiness of The New Republic’s “Baghdad Diarist,” more than a few people suggested that war supporters, unable to discredit the real bad news coming from Iraq, targeted the Scott Thomas Beauchamp stories as a weak link.  I cannot speak for everyone who supports the mission in Iraq, but I would submit that Beauchamp’s apparent fables and embellishments are not a “weak link” to be attacked, but simply an egregious example of the establishment media’s flawed coverage of the conflict.   Accordingly, what follows is an over view of the establishment media coverage of the conflict in Iraq.

Though public opinion polls consistently show that Americans consider Iraq to be the most important issue facing the country, establishment media has slashed the resources and time devoted to Iraq.  The number of embedded reporters plunged from somewhere between 570 and 750 when the invasion began in March 2003 to as few as nine by October 2006.  The result was the rise of what journalists themselves call “hotel journalism” and “journalism by remote control.”  Janet Reitman, reporting for Rolling Stone, described the state of the media in early 2004:

Read more

A Day Off for Quiet Reflection

I did not blog yesterday. I started the day at about 2:00 AM when I settled in a lawn chair in my backyard to watch the eclipse of the moon. It was an awesome sight. As the bright full moon gradually became dark and the stars in the sky seemed to brighten in contrast, my mind did one of those skips that minds sometimes do and I had a flashback to one of my very earliest memories. I was a little girl, no more than 4 years old. I was lying on my back, my Mother next to me, on our dock at our lakefront cottage on a balmy Summer night made for memories. My Mother was pointing out various celestial bodies and tracing the outline of the Big Dipper. As I thought about a moment in time that I had long forgotten as part of childhood, I was overcome with grief that I thought had passed. You see yesterday was the 3rd anniversary of my Mother’s death and watching the eclipse brought back not only the memories of a 4 year old at the end of a dock, but many other memories of camping under the stars where I learned about Cassiopeia’s Rocking Chair and the Pleiades and how to tell the difference between one of the planets and the stars.

Manifestations of grief after three years are far less frequent than in the immediate months after the death of a loved one. A certain smell, a word, a few notes of a song, a picture can all bring the overwhelming feelings of grief, of sadness, of longing to the surface. Although these feelings overwhelm less often, they are no less intense when the do hit. Yesterday, in the wee hours of the morning, sitting alone in a dark yard, those feelings consumed me. Instead of fighting the feelings, I let it all flow out and at the same time I was berating myself for doing so because I know, as sure as know my own name, that my Mother would be very upset to see me in such a state. She would tell me, “do not cry for me.” She did tell me that in her journal.

After a brief rest, I spent the rest of yesterday re-reading my Mother’s journals. I found an entry she made the day after her 80th birthday which was addressed to me in the form of a letter. It said in part, “honey, I know you will be sad when I’m gone, but do not cry for me, I’ve had a good life. You will feel alone and lost for awhile, but, dear, know that our spirits are forever entwined and I am with you every day in every way.” I read her journals shortly after she died 3 years ago, but either I missed this part, or the import of it was lost on me so early after her passing. She wrote those words at the age of 80 and then lived 14 more years. I know she never expected to even see 80, and at 80 she never anticipated living to 94. She was only 12 when her own mother died at the young age of 42. This weighed heavily on her all her life and never more so than after she had her only child when she was just short of forty. I know she worried that she would be leaving a toddler, then an adolescent and then a teen. That she would live long enough to see both grandchildren and great grandchildren was beyond her scope of acceptance and never ceased to amaze her right up to the day of her death.

So I didn’t blog yesterday. I read the journals, I let memories loose that I had bottled up, I cried, I laughed, I even sang a few old camp songs, I ate cheese blintzes (her favorite) and spent the day feeling her spirit entwined with mine. 

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Sombrero Galaxy

AP/NASA - The Sombrero galaxy as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Saddam’s Bunkers

I was watching an archeology show on the Discovery Cannel tonight and as I watched them tunneling into an Egyptian tomb, my mind wandered and the question of whatever happened to Saddam’s Bunkers popped into my mind. Back in 2003, there was lots of talk about these bunkers and how secure and extensive they were. I remember seeing drawings of the bunkers taken from the info of the German builders. But, I don’t recall hearing a word about the bunkers after the fall of Bahgdad. Maybe I missed it, which seems unlikely. The graphic from 2003 at the above link is for the bunker system under the palace in Tikrit, not Baghdad. Were they the same in design?

I went looking for some info and found the following interesting article. Apparently, our big bunker buster bombs did virtually no damage to the bunkers, but a broken water pipe that drips has. I wonder if in the nearly two years since this article was written, anyone has found that leaky pipe?

• Saddam’s bunker becomes tourist spot

Carlos Hamann
Thu, 08 Dec 2005

Saddam Hussein’s underground bunker, surprisingly undamaged despite heavy US bombing in 2003, has become an informal tourist attraction for visitors and residents of Baghdad’s downtown Green Zone area.

US forces hurled two 900kg (2000 pound) GBU-28 bunker-busting bombs at the building on the opening night of the US-led offensive to invade Iraq, March 19, 2003, according to the US military.

Over the next four days at least six more bunker-busters were dropped on the building, and the holes they smashed in the roof are still visible.

Impressive damage

The blasts caused impressive damage to the six-story high steel and concrete structure, known as the Believers Palace, built atop the bunker.

US soldiers and visitors touring the site pose for pictures near giant craters in the palace, amid heaps of twisted steel rods, concrete blocks and charred marble slabs.

Souvenir hunters can still find crystals from the giant chandelier that once hung in the main hall.

Yet despite the whirlwind of destruction, most of the palace is still structurally sound.

And the bunker, which lies under the rubble, is virtually intact — more than 20 years after it was built for $66-million by the German firm Boswau and Knauer (Walter Bau-AG building group).

Deep inside, the only light comes from flashlights carried by visitors, and the only sounds are their footsteps and a steady drip, drip, drip of water from a broken water pipe.

“We still can’t find the water main,” said Sergeant First Class Patrick McDonald, who works with a civil affairs unit and is the Green Zones de facto bunker expert.

“Even to this day some of the rooms have an inch of putrid water with some type of biological life

Read more

Another Day in Iraq #44

• Three suspected insurgents detained

• Coalition Forces detain eight suspected Special Groups terrorists

• Task Force Lightning Soldiers attacked

• Iraqi Forces, U.S. Marines, Special Forces detain eight, kill three insurgents

• MNF-W forces attacked

• Iraqi Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain network terror leader in Tikrit; detain al Qaeda in Iraq Emir in Baghdad

RELATED:

• The “Petraeus Report”

There has been some talk in the press and on the blogs that suggests the White House intends to tamper with—or simply write—General Petraeus’ assessment to Congress.  In a discussion today with a DOD Legislative Affairs expert, we got the truth.

Congress itself mandated by law who will assemble each of the several reports due in September.  It also, separately, mandated that General Petraeus be available to testify to them at this time.

Public Law 110-28 specifes that “the President, having consulted with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Commander, Multi-National Forces-Iraq, the United States Ambassador to Iraq, and the Commander of U.S. Central Command, will prepare the report and submit the report to Congress.”

The law separately requires that:  “[T]he United States Ambassador to Iraq and the Commander, Multi-National Forces Iraq will be made available to testify in open and closed sessions before the relevant committees of the Congress.”

So, in answer to the question:  there is a report, and there is a separate assessment.  The law requires the President to prepare the report, and General Petraeus to consult with him on that.  The law also requires the General to testify separately before Congress.

Read more

Afghanistan News:

• Military Apologizes for Dreaded Soccer Balls of Blasphemy

They Don’t Like Pal2Pal

Because I am a very satisfied customer of Vonage phone service and because I recommend Vonage frequently to friends, I thought I would advertise the service here on the blog. They actually have a pretty good payout for affiliates, so it would also be a way to earn a little money to pay for my own service. Well they don’t think Pal2Pal is up to their standards, I guess, as they rejected our request to place an ad on this blog. Seems the best person to tout the service would be someone who uses the service and is quite happy with it. Now, I have a sour taste. Note: #1 thru #5 are not relevant, so it must be one of the other reasons. Perhaps they are left wing moonbats at Performics and think #6 applies. Or maybe because in the past we have advocated for the decriminalization of marijuana, they consider that “promoting illegal substances,” even though our position is for medical purposes. I am positive we don’t tolerate hate speech or the advocacy for violence and I’m positive we don’t have extensive religious commentary or make any attempt to preach our faith. Oh well. As blogs go, I think this one is very mild. I would be interested to know what blogs, if any, are considered pristine enough to suit Performics/Vonage.

Dear Pal2Pal,

Thank you for your interest in DoubleClick Performics. At this time we cannot approve your application. Your site may have been declined for one or more of the following reasons:

1. We were unable to access and review your site based on the URL provided.
2. Your site was under construction.
3. The information provided doesn’t match registered domain information.
4. Submitting unsolicited commercial email (Spam) or trademark infringement.
5. Contains gambling information.
6. Publishing libel or defamation.
7. Promoting illegal substances.
8. Uses violence or hate-oriented speech.
9. Has extensive religious commentary or attempts to preach or solicit members for a particular church or faith.
10. Contains adult, obscene, or offensive content.

Reasons 1-3 are the most common reasons for declines. It is our policy to fully review each site before approval into our network.

Please feel free to contact us for additional information or after you have made the necessary adjustments to your site. We are more than happy to review again.

Sincerely,

DoubleClick Performics Affiliate Network...powered by ConnectCommerce
http://www.performics.com

Are You One of the 37 Million Counted as Poor by the Census Bureau?

“Tomorrow the Census Bureau is set to release it’s latest report on those “officially” living in poverty in America and the report is expected to put that number at around 37 million.”

The following are facts about persons defined as “poor” by the Census Bureau, taken from a variety of government reports:

• 46 percent of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.
• 80 percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
• Only six percent of poor households are overcrowded; two thirds have more than two rooms per person.
• The typical poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)
• Nearly three quarters of poor households own a car; 31 percent own two or more cars.
• 97 percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.
• 78 percent have a VCR or DVD player.
• 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.
• 89 percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and a more than a third have an automatic dishwasher.

Say Anything has more:

• America’s Poor Not Really All That Poor

The problem with these types of categorizations is people like me. I have all of the things listed plus more, but these are all things I bought and paid for before my income, through disability and retirement, dropped to under $28,000 a year. I don’t expect to be able to buy another car, or another house, or many luxury items any time soon, if ever. I can no longer afford to live in California and research shows me that if I want to stay below the snow belt, trouble looms. I had to drop the high premium payments for my health insurance, so I do without. I buy over the counter pain meds and suffer because the prescriptions can run a couple hundred a month and, as much as a hate pain and suffering, I’ve learned to suck it up and deal with it. And I can’t remember the last time I bought myself a new outfit or new shoes or treated myself to something more gourmet than macaroni and cheese or Top Ramen.

Lunar Eclipse of the Moon

NASA reminds us there is a lunar eclipse in the early morning hours tomorrow morning.

--- Live Webcast of Eclipse! ---

A total eclipse of the Moon occurs during the early morning of Tuesday, August 28, 2007.
The event is widely visible from the United States and Canada as well as South America, the Pacific Ocean, western Asia and Australia.
During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon’s disk can take on a dramatically colorful appearance from bright orange to blood red to dark brown and (rarely) very dark gray.

An eclipse of the Moon can only take place at Full Moon, and only if the Moon passes through some portion of Earth’s shadow.
The shadow is actually composed of two cone-shaped parts, one nested inside the other.
The outer shadow or penumbra is a zone where Earth blocks some (but not all) of the Sun’s rays.
In contrast, the inner shadow or umbra is a region where Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon.

If only part of the Moon passes through the umbra, a partial eclipse is seen. However, if the entire Moon passes through the umbral shadow, then a total eclipse of the Moon occurs.
For more information on how, what, why, where and when of lunar eclipses, see the special web page
lunar eclipses for beginners.

Budge Deficit Drops Again

The budget deficit drops again and drops way below the projections. Gary Gross has the details:

• How Low Can It Get?

Despite Democrats’ railing against President Bush’s economic policies, revenues keep pouring into the nation’s coffers. It’s gotten so bad that the CBO is revising its forecast for this year’s budget deficit again. If their prediction becomes fact, Democrats will have a tough time telling voters that ‘the rich aren’t paying their fair share.’ Here’s the grisly details of CBO’s revision:

Thanks largely to economic growth spurred by the Bush tax cuts, the federal deficit continues to shrink significantly.

The Congressional Budget Office announced last week that the deficit for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30 will be about $158 billion, well below the $250 billion recorded the previous year.

Read more

Personal Vent - Fox News

What a bunch of sanctimonious Barbie and Ken dolls Fox News is turning into. Yes, they are still better than the Jihadi propaganda and cheerleading you get from CNN or the absolute craziness and left wing silliness you get from MSNBC, but c’mon Fox, we’re tired of these overpaid plastic brain dead anchors screeching at us with the newest scandal du hour. Want an example, check out Megn Kelly and Shep Smith as a start. They all look the same, they all sound the same, and every one of them lives in some kind of bubble that has nothing to do with the real world or real world motivations or emotions. To say they are prima dona airheads, despite their resumes, would be an understatement.

/vent

New York Times Comes Up with a New Pay Feature

Since Times Select was such a success, right? Not. So, you wouldn’t pay $49.95 but maybe you will pay $169 a year for Times Reader.

May I suggest to “Pinch” and crew, dump the left wing BS and the slanted reporting, stop revealing classified programs to our enemies, and maybe you will gain back some of your readers.

Of course, if you want the “Premium Crosswords” for free, then maybe you’ll want to sign up.

(H/T: Media Blog)

So Again - What Kind of Gun is It?

Last week in this post, I asked: “So what kind of gun is this anyway?” in reference to this picture:

Today Maggies Farms posted a link to a Handgun ID Chart.

The question remains on the table.

Don’t Open Those eCards

If your email boxes are like mine, every day you get several notices that a friend, family member, church, or some other made up entity has sent you an email greeting card. They look very legitimate and if you are or have been a user of eCards, you might tend to open them. DON’T!!!

Cao posts the following:

Don’t open nor send E-Cards anymore!

By SSgt Yatahey
on Wide Awakes Radio: WAR

Doesn’t it make you feel good when a friend (or perhaps love interest) sends you a cheery, heart-felt e-card? In a world where Hallmark demands $5 or more for syrupy sympathy quotes, it’s nice that there’s a safe, electronic alternative.

But, how safe are e-cards?

According to one recent report, not very. Fake greetings are now making their way to unsuspecting victims via email, and it’s unloading a plethora of new and nasty viruses on the computer of Joe Public — Fake e-cards harm computers

Although e-card viruses and Trojan threats are nothing new, this new form of greeting appears especially troubling. Security experts at Avinti are most concerned about the very text of these new e-cards; unlike those nasty messages in the past, these new ones use simple, plain text. That means they’re not thoroughly scanned and sometimes not weeded out by antivirus or antispam filters.

According to Avinti chief technology officer Dave Green, “Apparently, they’ve found that they can be very successful in getting these through by not having it be formatted as an HTML message”. Since most of the problem email e-cards use a link to rope victims in, all that’s really necessary is a hint of curiosity for a Trojan or virus to infect a computer — Someone Has Sent You an E-Card Virus

Land of confusion

The most dangerous threats, be they viruses or phishing scams, are those that can mask themselves as legitimate operations. That’s one of the reasons this new fake e-card campaign has such disastrous potential; Green finds that the culprits have nicely disguised themselves as some of the most popular greeting card companies currently on the web. That coupled with failing spam filters has been enough to dupe a concerning number of PC users.

So, what’s being installed?

For those who’ve been keeping up with Infopackets news, it won’t be surprising. As reported by Carlo Orlando a few weeks ago, variants of the “Storm” worm are behind the kind e-cards, a reality that should shock enough of us into being very careful with our inbox emotion.

Pass this story to everyone on your E-mail list

Pal2Pal Registered Users

Lately, there have been several people registering with Pal2Pal. We appreciate your interest. However, many of those registering have had their registration confirmation emails bounced back. This can be because the email address was phony, in which case, we figure you are a spammer. Or it could be that our confirmation email is ending up in a spam folder and not getting delivered. In one case, the reason was a full email box. So, if you have recently registered and you have not received a confirmation email, check your spam filter. Right now there are 13 registrants who remain in pending status because of bounced emails.

1 Winning Powerball Ticket - Richmond, Indiana - $314 Million

• 1 winning ticket sold in Indiana for $314 million Powerball

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) - No one has come forward yet with a $314 million Powerball lottery ticket sold near the Indiana-Ohio state line.

The sole winning ticket in Saturday’s drawing was purchased at a Speedway convenience store in Richmond, Indiana, about 35 miles west of Dayton (Ohio).

A spokesman for Indiana’s lottery says they don’t know if the winner is one person or a hundred people. But he says whoever it is—they’re wealthy.

The winning numbers are: 2, 8, 23, 29, 35 and Powerball 19.

Monday Morning Roundup

A roundup of reactions, including video. Make no mistake, the racists are cheering. Another good man brought down by the smear machine.

• Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez Resigns

Link: sevenload.com

RELATED: Bush: His Good Name Dragged Through Mud...

• Michael Vick Pleads Guilty and Speaks Up

RICHMOND, Va. — Following an appearance in federal court Monday during which he pleaded guilty to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge, suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick said he took responsibility for his actions and apologized to his teammates, fans and bosses within the Falcon’s organization and NFL.

“I apologize for all the things I’ve done and allowed to happen,” Vick said during a press conference about an hour after he entered his guilty plea. Admitting to being uncomfortable with public speaking, Vick said he was “speaking from the heart.”

Repeatedly saying that he would “not point the finger” or blame others for his predicament, Vick said he had “not been honest or forthright” in discussing his involvement in dogfighting with his teammates, Falcon’s owner Arthur Blank, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell because he had been “ashamed” and “disappointed in myself.”

Vick also repeatedly apologized to his young football fans, saying his behavior was “immature.”

“I apologize to the young kids for my immature acts,” Vick said. “What I did was immature and I need to grow up,” he said.

“I’m more disappointed in myself more than anything for all the young kids out there who looked at Michael Vick as a role model,” he said. He said he wanted to become a “better Michael Vick,” and would have “a lot of downtime to think about what I’ve done.”

Asking for “forgiveness and understanding,” Vick said he would “turn my life over to God. That’s the right thing to do right now.”

“Dogfighting is a terrible thing and I reject it,” he said.

Vick appeared Monday before U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson, who asked Vick whether he knew what evidence the government had against him and whether he had gone over the facts of the case with his legal team.

• Ancient Olympia Saved, Terrorism Investigated

Fire burns on the Hill of Kronos next to the site of ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games, in southwestern Greece on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007. A massive effort by firefighters, assisted by water-dropping aircraft and fire trucks, succeeded in keeping a raging blaze away from the 2,800-year-old site _ the holiest sanctuary in ancient Greece. Three days of forest blazes throughout the country have left at least 57 people dead, authorities said Sunday. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - A top prosecutor ordered an investigation Monday into whether this summer’s arson attacks in Greek forests could be considered terrorism, the Public Order Ministry said.

Meanwhile, a fire broke out on the fringes of Athens a day after a massive effort prevented the birthplace of the Olympics from being devastated by flames.

Dimitris Papangelopoulos, who is responsible for prosecuting terrorism and organized crime, ordered the investigation to determine “whether the crimes of arsonists and of arson attacks on forests” could come under Greece’s anti-terrorism law, the ministry said in a statement.

Michael Yon at his finest. A recommended read.

• Michael Yon, Ghosts of Anbar Part I of IV and Part II of IV

“If you are going on a combat mission and soldiers have not cleaned all their windows to a sparkle, do not go with them.”

• Sen. Kerry permits last statute of limitations for defamation to lapse, forever barring any defamation claim against SwiftVet authors O’Neill and Corsi

When I first brought it to his attention in September 2005, I reminded Sen. John F. Kerry that — based on the publication date on or about August 25, 2004, of Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry by John E. O’Neill and Jerome R. Corsi — Sen. Kerry had already allowed the one-year statutes of limitations for defamation to expire in Texas (where Mr. O’Neill resides), New Jersey (where Dr. Corsi resides), and the District of Columbia (where their publisher Regnery Publishing, Inc. has its principal place of business and Sen. Kerry has his own regular place of business).

But as I noted then, Sen. Kerry’s home state of Massachusetts has a very unusual, extremely generous and pro-plaintiff three-year limitations period for defamation claims. ... But now he’s let the incredibly generous Massachusetts statute of limitations run out, too.

...

So let’s drop the snark and call a spade a spade: The very last thing John Kerry wants is to ever give the SwiftVets the legal tools they’d need to conclusively document their claims, because truth is, of course, a complete defense to defamation claims.

Read more

John “Koward” Kerry, all bullsh!t, no action!

Happy Birthday Glenn Reynolds

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Another Day in Iraq #4 3

• 11 terrorists killed, six suspects detained in Coalition operations

• 3-1 Cavalry denies enemy sanctuary in Jisr Diyala

• Military refutes reported Coalition confrontation in Baghdad mosque

• 1-15 Infantry finds, destroys large enemy cache

• Iraqi citizens escape makeshift prison, CF find remains

• Troops destroy cache in Southern Baghdad

• Stryker Brigade Soldiers convene with Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and Iraqi tribal leaders to promote p

• Coalition Forces capture foreign fighter in Arab Jabour

• Execution site discovered, eight suspects detained

• Three terrorists killed, 17 suspects detained in Coalition raids

• Iraqi Army, U.S. Special Forces detain rogue Jaysh al Mahdi leaders

RELATED:

Has Badger 6 identified the true new Iraqi milestone?

• New Glass

BREAKTHROUGH: Progress on political reconciliation announced. Malaki goes off on Hillary and Levin.

• Iraq’s leaders agree on key benchmarks

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq’s top Shi’ite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish political leaders announced on Sunday they had reached consensus on some key measures seen as vital to fostering national reconciliation.

...

“I hope that this agreement will help Iraq move beyond the political impasse,” Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih told Reuters.

“The five leaders representing Iraq’s major political communities .... affirmed the principle of collective leadership to help deal with the many challenges faced by Iraq.”

The appearance of Maliki on Iraqi television with the four other leaders at a brief news conference was a rare show of public unity. The other officials present were President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd; Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi; Shi’ite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, and Masoud Barzani, president of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

...

“We extend our congratulations to the five leaders for the spirit of cooperation that has characterized this effort,” the U.S. embassy said in a statement.

“There is clearly more work to be done, but the approach taken by the five is the right one.”

The report by the U.S. military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and ambassador Ryan Crocker, is seen as a watershed moment in the unpopular four-year-old war, with Democrats likely to use the negligible political progress to press their case for troops to begin pulling out soon.

Bush is pleading for patience, pointing to the military’s apparent success in reducing levels of violence between majority Shi’ite Muslims and minority Sunni Arabs.

But Democrats are not convinced, with presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton and fellow Senator Carl Levin calling for Maliki to be replaced.

Maliki hit back on Sunday, saying: “There are American officials who consider Iraq as if it were one of their villages, for example Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin.”

“This is severe interference in our domestic affairs. Carl Levin and Hillary Clinton are from the Democratic Party and they must demonstrate democracy,” he said. “I ask them to come to their senses and to talk in a respectful way about Iraq.”

[Emphasis added]

Video: The Creed of Intolerance or The History of Political Correctness

(H/T: Atlas Shrugs)

Now that you’ve watched the video, go check out Baron Bodissey’s humorous must read:

• The Ten Postulates of Political Correctness

Also known as the “Ten Commandments of Multiculturalism”

(H/T: Sister Toldjah)

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Oh My God! This is Freakin’ Unbelievable

Essentially, these freaks want Joints Chief Chairman, General Peter Pace, to arrest the President.

• HuffPo Calls For Military Coup In USA

Ken McCracken writes in response:

This is what I wrote to the HuffPo in response:

Dear Whomever,

Martin Lewis’ post calling for a coup against the White House is a new low for the Huffington Post. Is the Huffington Post going to stand by this traitorous incitement to overthrow our democratically-elected President? Is that what the Huffington Post stands for - illegal militarism in the name of punishing policies some leftist doesn’t like?

I urge you to retract this post, fire Martin Lewis, and issue an apology.

Sincerely outraged,

Ken McCracken

I sincerely urge everyone out there to contact the Huffington Post and let them know this crosses the line. Big time.
And please, no ‘corrections’ defending Lewis claiming he is not calling for a coup d’etat. The only mechanism for relieving the President of his duties as Commander-in-Chief lies in impeachment - what Lewis is calling for completely subverts the Constitution.

I’m with Ken. This is dangerous ignorance, bordering on treason, and Lewis should be fired. These people are sick beyond belief.

I think this comment made at Captain’s Quarters from the first link above just about sums it up:

Posted by eaglewings | August 25, 2007 3:34 PM

This is a hilarious post. What does he think, that after Pace supposedly arrests Bush, that Cheney would then leave power so that Nancy Pelosi becomes President? And since the arrest and removal would not be under the impeachment powers, acting President Cheney could immediately pardon President W, after which Pace would be immediately hauled off to Guantanamo. (Which I think is the real purpose of the advice. Get rid of the people making progress in Iraq by any means necessary.)As Mark Levin rightly says, liberalism is stupidity personified.

Is it sedition? Should this British born author be deported as an undesirable? Or should he be arrested on felony charges for calling for the armed overthrow of the Government, not only a felony, but in a time of war is punishable by death.

RELATED:

• Now HuffPo Has A Real Problem

• HuffPo Blogger says Arrest Bush for ‘Conduct Unbecoming’

Mr. Lewis you are not funny and you really should update your Wiki pic. There is no way that pic reflects a 55 year old man, no matter how much vanity work you’ve had done to boost your self esteem. /snark

• HuffPo Writer Calls for Military Coup in US

• HuffPo genius to Peter Pace: Arrest this man and relieve him of command

• HuffPo calls for military coup, wants General Pace to arrest President

• Blue Crab Boulevard: Apropos Rich’s Post

Are we seeing a pattern here yet? Need a little more to convince you of the complete and utter insanity proposed by Martin Lewis?

• Your Saturday Dose Of Dumbass…

Lewis shows he is effectively ignorant of how the constitution works, but that doesn’t stop his little jerk-off fantasy. He seriously believes that Gen. Pace actually has an obligation to save the nation by “relieving” the president of his “command.” Of course, being a nutsack, Lewis doesn’t consider the practical angle of first having the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff going completely insane. Or the rest of the Chiefs tying him to his chair after relieving him of his command. Or, if it actually got down to it, the rather large phalanx of humorless Secret Service agents just itching to protect the president from a military take over of the United States.

I just love it when the left puts it’s neofascist wet dreams on record.

And Tigerhawk really should have the last word, since it is short, accurate and humorous.

• A blogging milestone

Technorati is now tracking 100 million blogs. However, that is not the blogging milestone to which the title of this post refers. Rather, it is the discovery, from among those 100 million blogs, of the single most asinine post ever written.

Man Undergoes Gastric Bypass Surgery to Adopt Child

This is going to end up being the best move this gentleman could make and I hope that once he loses all the weight that he will be considered suitable to adopt the child. He will be much healthier, have a greater chance for a longer life, and he will certainly be able to participate more fully in the life of the child. As a gastic bypass patient who had a BilioPancreatic Diversion, known as BPD, now called gastric bypass surgery back in 1990, when it was still experimental, I can state categorically that it was the very best decision I’ve ever made for myself. I went from a size 24 to a size 6, from 280 lbs to 128 lbs, then stablilized at 134 lbs, where I’ve now been for the last 15 years. My blood pressure never varies much from 110/60, my joints don’t ache, I feel as good and maybe better than I did in my twenties and I’m well into middle age. And I have had no bad side affects, unless you count not being able to tolerate mayonnaise. But I didn’t like mayonnaise anyway and I have no problems with Miracle Whip.

So I wish Gary Stocklaufer good luck. And congratulate him for taking this step toward a healthier life.

• Man Undergoes Gastric Bypass Surgery to Adopt Child

DALLAS — A man who weighed 558 pounds when a Missouri judge prevented him from adopting a child he and his wife had taken into their home underwent gastric bypass surgery Friday in a bid to win the child back.

Gary Stocklaufer, a 34-year-old truck driver, and his wife claim a judge unfairly discriminated against them because of his weight in deciding to give 4-month-old Max to another couple for possible adoption. The infant from Arlington, who is related to the Stocklaufers, had lived with them since he was a week old.

This is considered the first case where a couple seeking to adopt has resorted to surgery in the increasingly prevalent practice of denying parents adoptions because they are obese, several adoption experts said.

Missouri officials would not confirm the reason Max was removed from the Stocklaufers’ home, citing the confidentiality of ongoing court proceedings in adoption cases.

Stocklaufer, of Independence, Mo., dieted before the surgery and weighed 480 pounds when he entered the Renaissance Hospital in Dallas for the pro bono operation that could help him shed more than half his bulk.

Read more