Fox News: They Report, Obama Decides - HUMAN EVENTS

When it was learned that the reason for the administration’s animosity toward Fox News was based in part on the network’s coverage of Obamacare and Glenn Beck’s opposition to bringing the Olympics to the Chicago, Fox News’ Chris Wallace called Obama a “crybaby” and the battle began.

The last time such a war raged between the White House and a media outlet, Richard Nixon was President, and his V.P, Spiro Agnew, was doing all he could to blackball the New York Times over their unflattering coverage of the Vietnam War. This time, the war is between a President whose skin is at least as thin as was Nixon’s, but whose motives are far more self-serving.

I, Cringely: The Cybersecurity Myth

So this is the wrong approach entirely. It won’t work, the DHS probably knows it won’t work (if they don’t know that, well God help us all) but they see it as better than nothing.

Then God help us all. I seriously doubt they know how ridiculous that 1000 number sounds or what a security expert is.

We are at the mercy of ignoramuses, and that is true (regardless of party affiliation) with each new Federal pronouncement on the subject (Network Neutrality fits into the mold as well).

These people are “true believers” regardless of whether they support limited government or an ever expanding one.

Of course if you want to posit that those at the top are fully aware of the situations and are simply putting on a show to retain their safe, well paying jobs** at our and our children’s expense while accomplishing nothing of true value, then I’d say the situation is far far worse.

** not to mention creating up to 1000 new ones for family and friends.

And from the link CNN article:

Department officials could not say precisely how many cyberexperts now work at DHS and its various component agencies such as the Secret Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Napolitano said she doubts it will be necessary to fill all 1,000 of the authorized positions, but she is focused on making DHS a "world-class cyberorganization."

I'm watching the gravitas bleed out of this administration at an alarming rate. Que episodes of the keystone Cops.

At least this Janet hasn't ordered the fire-storming of any fringe religious groups. Yet.

Sounds like 2% unemployment in the DC area is safe though. I'm sure the nation appreciates this.

Oh, then there's this:

The Department of Homeland Security today appointed a senior Microsoft Corp. executive to head a section charged with protecting the federal government's computer networks from cyber attacks.

...

Still, critics say DHS cyber efforts have been characterized by inefficiency and leadership failures. Amit Yoran, a former cybersecurity czar at DHS before he left the department in 2004 after little more than a year on the job, said Reitinger has some tough work ahead of him.

Yoran cited as an example the current status of the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT). Widely considered one of the most effective cyber components of DHS, Yoran said US-CERT has been ripped apart by years of political infighting and political stovepipes.

Oh, no business as usual there eh?

Don't miss the irony of hiring a former Microsoft employee (with vested options perhaps?) to look over security issues for a federal bureaucracy plagued with improperly installed and maintained Windows systems.

In congressional testimony his predecessor mentioned Windows issues multiple times. Maybe that's why he was compelled to leave. In any even all our federally installed malware will have nice generic designations now I'm sure. We don't want to hurt any company's feelings after all.

Finally, apropos of nothing other than federal incompetence in general:

July, August deadliest months of Afghan war for US - Yahoo! News

KABUL – A roadside bomb and gunfire attack killed a U.S. service member in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, a death that pushed August into a tie with July as the deadliest months of the eight-year war.

The death brought to 44 the number of U.S. troops who have died in Afghanistan this month with four days left in August.

NY Daily News adds:

The President has no calls or meetings on his schedule at the moment, presidential spokesman Bill Burton said, but he is staying up-to-date with developments on the economy, health care and foreign policy.

Burton hit back at Republican critics who said Obama should forgo his week-long vacation when many Americans are struggling economically.

"As I recall, the previous President took quite a bit of vacation time himself, and I don't think anyone bemoaned that," Burton told reporters, referring to George W. Bush's month-long summer getaways.

Well, um, I think quite a few people did "bemoan" that, including embedding references in just about every Hollywood movie made at the time.

I guess the theory goes that as long as Obama didn't vote for the war (did he vote to de-fund it?) he can ignore the consequences.

Subtracting out the blacks who voted for him simply because of his color, and the airheads who voted for him simply because Jon Stewart told them to, and the potheads who voted for him because any Democrat is more likly to easy pot laws than any Republican, and so on*... there are still a sizable number of people who voted for him due to their own opposition to the war (both of them, and the war on terror generally). What must those people be thinking now?**

* and don't forget disrespected parents of twenty somethings hoping to get back into the good graces of their drifted-away children (yes, I know some of them).

** not that I agree with them. While the war may have been tactically wrong, it was hard to find anyone in the days after 9/11 that didn't think we needed to do *something*. Meanwhile so many of the objections: "all about oil", "all about Haliburton", "can't impose democracy" seem to have run afoul of reality.

Does Flickr Censor User Content Over Blatantly Fake DMCA Notices? | Thomas Hawk Digital Connection

Many bloggers and news outlets accused Flickr of censorship and political bias in the removal of what was seen by many as a clear fair use parody image critical of the President. The case made the national press and with an EFF attorney adding that Alkhateeb indeed had a very strong fair use defense. After a substantial amount of critical press over the image, Flickr Community Manager Heather Champ finally came out defending Flickr over the issue saying that Alkhateeb’s image had been removed from Flickr due to a “a complete Notice of Infringement as outlined by the DMCA (Digitial Millenium Copyright Act)” In the same breath Champ accused the press and blogosphere of being “makey uppey.” Shortly afterwards, the thread where Flickr users were complaining about this image deletion was shut down by Flickr staff.

People need to read 1984 and Brave New World again (along with a history of the Soviet Union in the late 20th century).

A state does not need to be all-powerful in order to be oppressive. They simply need to convince enough people to act as spies and censors on their behalf so as to intimidate or throttle dissent.

Knowing Yahoo's history as I do (as a former customer) I am quite willing to chalk this one up to incompetence, coupled with a good dose of political bias. Don't expect the Yahoo's to fess up to either. Their efforts to reinforce the illusion that they have done no wrong, and can do no wrong only adds to my contempt for the company. Eventually everyone will figure out that their ability to deliver falls far short of their promises. My only regret is that the primary beneficiary of Yahoo's demise will likely be Microsoft.

Wait, Where's Our Stimulus?

Yesterday, we were reminded that the government is writing a check to General Motors for $400 million so GM can develop better car batteries.

This check wasn't a loan. It was a "grant." Another word for "grant," of course, is "gift."

The GM news came a few hours before the Senate finally agreed on how best to give car-buyers and car companies $4,500 per new car. These payments aren't loans, either. They're gifts.

Notice that all the helping hands that have gone out are aimed at either those that are "too big to fail" or to those who "can't help themselves".

The formula for destroying a civilization by destroying the middle class is so well known and understood that I can only wonder at what point our President and Congress are accused not just of being wrong about these policies, but in fact of intentionally trying to make matters worse.

While companies like GM (and the banks) may be "hurting" there are many small and medium sized businesses that have already bled to death but aren't big enough to make headlines.

Yes, Microsoft and Google will pay more taxes and deal with more regulators than your average electrician or plumber, but those regulations, taxes and fees will represent the difference between survival or failure for these small companies, while to the big guys (even those not being bailed out) they are simply an inconvenience.

U.S. Professor: I told FBI about kidney trafficking 7 years ago - Haaretz - Israel News

The anthropologist says that the man who led her to Rosenbaum says that he initially believed Rosenbaum was a man who saved the lives of people in need. According to Scheper-Hughes, that man told her he had changed his mind after meeting some of Rosenbaum's donors - confused and impoverished people from Eastern Europe.

One out of every five adult males in some of Moldova's poorest villages has had his kidney removed, according to Scheper-Hughes. But a 2004 State Department report stated that "it would be impossible to conceal a clandestine organ trafficking ring."

Well, maybe they should have said impossible to conceal for more than 7 years!

What's the deal with the White House press corps? - wtop.com

"I don't fault the President for trying to control the press. But I ask you, why does the press go along? There is not one moment of spontaneity. The questioners are tipped off, in advance, by the White House and they behave accordingly.

No. Not one questions about Iraq. Not one questions about Afghanistan, where American troops have had the worst month of fatalities in eight years. These guys, and women, are not journalists. They're enablers."

American Thinker Blog: Feds issue guidelines to stay away from Vegas and Orlando for meetings

Following the embarrassment of video-taped scenes of federal bureaucrats boogying at the ultra-luxurious Arizona Biltmore Hotel to ‘relieve stress", it is understandable that agencies want to avoid the "appearance" of doing what they are doing: wasting taxpayer money on useless junkets.

We don't know when this guidance was supplied to federal agencies, but a sneaking suspicion is that it was after the Arizona Biltmore tape aired, and some genius in the White House reacted, not realizing that Harry Reid is up for re-election next year. Amateur hour stuff, it seems to me.

At some point the major media will take the trouble to report that before winning his party's nomination Obama hadn't won a major election outright. In previous contests his opponents had been forced to drop out for one reason or another. Hillary (and I'm no fan of hers either) had 15 years (count'em) of anti-Hillary material built up against her by both conservatives and liberals of one kind or another. McCain is considered a lefty among Republicans. "Acceptable" but nothing more. Meanwhile, Democrats who said things like "McCain is one Republican I could see voting for", voted for Obama anyway.

While Obama's term in office will most certainly hurt people who voted for him more than it hurts people who didn't, it will hurt all Americans in ways that will take a generation to recover from.

The empty suit in the White House isn't really all that hard to explain. It will be hard to forget.

Michael Savage: Pack your bags for England!

While we are on incompetents (and incompetence) in office, I was shocked at this article:

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=104396

No, not the turnaround on banning Michael Savage... which was more of a circus event, but this statement from the stepped down Home Secretary:

Last week, Jacqui Smith admitted she was not up to being home secretary, saying she should have been given some training for the job before being named.

"When I became home secretary I'd never run a major organization," she told Total Politics magazine. "I hope I did a good job but if I did it was more by luck than by any kind of development of skills. I think we should have been better trained. I think there should have been more induction."

Last month, Smith resigned her position in the wake of scandal over personal use of taxpayer funds and her controversial ban of Savage.

If only the imbeciles in high office over here would have the humility to make such a statement I might be a little less antagonistic at them lining their own retirement portfolios at the expense of mine, all in the name of "helping the disadvantaged" (which it won't).

Ballmer Ribs Google's OS At Microsoft Conference (MSFT, GOOG)

"I don't know if they can't make up their mind or what the problem is over there. The last time I checked you don't need two client operating systems."

Only one of the readers at businessinsider came up with this list of MS operating systems (I don't know if they are all current):

* Windows XP
o Starter Edition (16 editions for each of 16 countries)
o Home Edition
o Home Edition N (European market)
o Home Edition K (South Korean market)
o Home Edition KN (South Korean market)
o Home Edition for Subscription Computers
o Home Edition for Prepaid Computers
o Professional Edition
o Professional Edition N (European market)
o Professional Edition K (South Korean market)
o Professional Edition KN (South Korean market)
o 64-bit Edition
o Professional x64 Edition
o Media Center Edition
o Tablet PC Edition
o XP for Embedded Systems
o XP Embedded
o Embedded for Point of Service
o Windows Fundamentals For Legacy PCs
* Windows Server 2003
o Small Business Server
o Web Edition
o Standard Edition
o Enterprise Edition
o Datacenter Edition
o Storage Server
o Windows Home Server
* Windows Vista
o Starter
o Home Basic
o Home Basic N (European market)
o Home Premium
o Business
o Business N (European market)
o Enterprise
o Ultimate
* Windows 7
* Windows Server 2008
o Web Server
o Standard Edition
o Enterprise Edition
o Datacenter Edition
o for Itanium-based Systems

Windows Mobile computing

* Windows CE
* Windows Mobile 6

The Meaning Of Bing (MSFT)

"Since next week is the Global Issue of Advertising Age, first a word about Bing's supposed connotations outside the English-speaking world. Maybe you've seen the endlessly tweeted Twitter meme, 'Bing means disease in Chinese,' which usually points to posts at either TechCrunch or the Brand Infection blog, both of which included an image of a 'Learn Chinese' fortune-cookie slip that translates 'bing' as 'disease.' Brand Infection asked, 'Does Microsoft not research the meaning before introducing a new brand? Or will Microsoft rebrand the product in China? Or did Microsoft never intend to market it there? Or does Microsoft not care?'"

Probably sharing research assistants with our State Department.

Whitacre Vows to ‘Learn About Cars’ as Chairman of New GM Board - Bloomberg.com

June 10 (Bloomberg) -- Edward E. Whitacre Jr. built AT&T Inc. into the biggest U.S. provider of telephone service over a 43-year-career. By his own admission, he becomes chairman of General Motors Corp. knowing nothing about the auto industry.

Not to criticize his selection (I don't know enough one way or the other), but if you look at the history of AT&T you will see that it was for most of it's history a monopoly until roughly 1984 when it was busted up into several smaller regional monopolies providing local phone service. AT&T then proceeded to flounder around either merging with other companies or spinning off parts of itself in a desperate struggle to survive as a non-monopoly company.

The regional bells, continuing to rake in unearned profits wisely sought to diversify themselves, going into publishing, cable TV, cellular, and even the furniture business. It would be at least very difficult to catalogue where all the monopoly money ended up, except to say that some of it, if not most of it, ended up wasted on dead-end products and projects. In the process all the baby-bells as they cam to be called went on wild rebranding sprees yielding meaningless names such as Verizon, Qwest and SBC (which might have stood for Southwest Bell Corporation at one time but just stands for SBC (nothing ) now).

I certainly don't know what Whitacre's real resume would look like, but he was at least NOT with AT&T during most of this time, but when AT&T re-merged with SBC in 2005 (AT&T as the company being acquired) he was head of SBC, not AT&T.

Someone else can figure out to what extent he was responsible for the success of what was still a mini-monopoly, I'm more interested in the principle than the individual.

The principle being, as someone put it recently, that most of these companies are not too big to fail, they are in fact too big to exist. I personally think that busting the AT&T monopoly was a good thing, particularly as it wasn't just a big company it was almost an extension of the government in its monopoly powers.

Now, in saving GM (and some banking and investment businesses), we are moving in the opposite direction, that of combining more and more businesses into government run monopolies (including offloading of Chrystler to the Italians so that we at Government Motors only have one remaining private company, Ford, to deal with). Of course we are told that all of this is only temporary. Problem with that is that temporary can turn into a very long time.

The two most likely outcomes are that GM will succeed, at the expense of the only other large American car company, ending real choice, or that through gross mismanagement, it will fail, leaving taxpayers with a big bill to pay and also leaving Americans with only one company to chose from.

Very little that is good can come from this, but our die has been cast, and I will not let those around me forget who (which voters that is) are the responsible parties. Before anyone protests, no, the Obama administration didn't cause it all, they have just provided the "punch line" that shifts our course from heading toward simple socialism to something much much more sinister.

For the real punch in the gut, we should all remember that none of these recent course changes can be corrected during most of our lifetimes, assuming we start correcting them in 2010, which is still doubtful considering new high school graduates know almost nothing about this country's history or how its government was designed to work. Congratulations to all of you who "won".

Fiat’s GM and Opel Deals: Building an Empire With No Money Down - Deal Journal - WSJ

"While consumers must pay cash to buy cars, Fiat looks to be building an auto empire without putting down a single penny. Will this work or not?"

Considering they are dealing with people who have never so much as run a lemonade stand, probably so.

Computer virus strikes US Marshals, FBI affected

Speaking of "Worst Practices".

Projects Gone Wrong - IT Management

Is this the era of "Worst Practices"?

Talking Points Memo: A Real News Source for Maureen Dowd and Others | Peter Kafka | MediaMemo | AllThingsD

"After an initial attempt by Dowd to explain away the similarity between her work and his, the Times is now running a correction on Dowd’s Sunday column, noting that she “failed to attribute a paragraph” to Marshall."

Go to link for more on the blogger that the Dowdwager likes to "quote".

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation - on the Future of Journalism

Note, the actual hearing starts 60-minutes into the video, so you should skip ahead unless you want to look at this graphic for an hour.

George F. Will - Obama's Budget Satire - washingtonpost.com

"As the president and his party's legislators are forcing minority children back into public schools, the doors of which would never be darkened by the president's or legislators' children, remember this: We have seen a version of this shabby act before. One reason conservatism came to power in the 1980s was that in the 1970s liberals advertised their hypocrisy by supporting forced busing of other people's children to schools the liberals' children did not attend."

H-1B Visa Demand Plunges with Economy

"Four Indian IT outsourcers topped the 2008 list of companies obtaining H-1B visas, followed by Microsoft as the top U.S. user of the controversial temporary work visas. Leading the list of 2008 H-1B permits was Infosys Technologies with 4,559 visas granted.

Following Infosys were Wipro Technologies with 2,678 H-1B visas, Satyam Computer Services with 1,917 H-1B visas and Tata Consultancy Services with 1,539 H-1B visas. Microsoft clocked in with 1,307 H-1B visas in 2008.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (467 visas) and Cisco Systems (422) were the only other U.S. companies making the top 10 list of H-1B users. Other notable U.S. technology companies using H-1B visas in 2008 included Google (207), Oracle (168), Yahoo (139), Motorola (112), IBM (104) and Apple (70)."

Also:

*here*
*here*
*here*

Russia's Medvedev hails 'comrade' Obama - Yahoo! Singapore News

The pair also discussed thorny issues including NATO's eastwards expansion, long opposed by Moscow which sees it as a power-grab by the West's former Cold War-era military bloc into former Soviet territory.

"Yesterday I spoke about this with my new comrade President Barack Obama," Medvedev told reporters travelling with him to the London summit.