Monthly Archives: November 2011

Lifehacker: 10 must-haves for Tech Friendly Go-Bags

We very much like Whitson Gordon’s  Top 10 Gadgets You Should Have In Your Go Bag – it’s certainly an outstanding and well-reasoned Go-Bag list for a tech-savvy person who has to relocate. We’d only add what not only belongs in every go-bag – but, as the 9/11 Commission recommended, the one always-carry item for everyone ought to be a compact,  rugged, LED flashlight. Here are some excerpts – with our additions and comments:

10. Cable Shorteners of the biggest annoyances the traveling geek encounters is a tornado of tangled cables in her backpack. If you need to neatly organize your cables, grab some cable shorteners like the stylish, cheap Applecores. MacBook users will also love the Quirky PowerCurl wrapper for their AC adapter (though make sure you’re wrapping that cord correctly), and a simple binder clip makes a dandy headphone wrapper for the traveling music junkie.

In our experience, the weakest link in cable systems are delicate connectors at the ends of cables – particularly the spring-clips on RJ-45 and RJ-11 connectors, and recent experiences with micro-USB connected have led us to believe that the best practice for storing and transporting cables is not only wrapped for shortening, but also in containers to protect the integrity of connectors and cable.

 

 

I’ve had good luck with

GOP Debate On CNN, with Questions by American Enterprise Institute & Heritage Foundation

GOP Candidates, 2011, Courtesy CBS News

Follow LJF97 on Twitter Tweet At the conclusion of the GOP debate, Wolf Blitzer thanked CNN‘s partners, the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation. This partnership explains the framing of the debate on energy as “Burn Baby Burn” or “Drill Baby Drill.”

No questions were asked on the potential for renewable energy technologies, such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydro. Nor were questions asked on climate change or on the pollution and cleanup costs from coal, oil, gas, or nuclear.

Energy policy and climate are linked, and could be addressed in one question:

This summer people in Texas experienced an extended drought and 100 days in which the temperature was over 100 degrees (CBS). Is this normal? Is this the ‘new normal?’ If this is triggered by burning so much carbon based fuel in the last 200 years that we have elevated the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide from about 260 parts per million in 1800 to about 390 ppm today (350.org), and we have burned mountains of coal, lakes of oil and gas, is it prudent to continue to burn coal, oil, and gas, or should we embark on a plan to transition to non-fossil-carbon sources of energy, such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, etc? And if so, how quickly?

This could also be asked in a national security context:

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, identified energy and climate change among the constraints which, in his words, “could place the United States at a strategic turning point…. Glaciers are melting at a faster rate, causing water supplies to diminish in Asia. Rising sea levels could lead to a mass migration and displacement similar to what we saw in Pakistan’s floods last year.  And other shifts could reduce the arable land needed to feed a growing population in Africa, for example. Scarcity of water, food and space could create not only a humanitarian crisis but create conditions that could lead to failed states, instability and, potentially, radicalization.” (NRDC / WWF) What does this mean for the USA in the next 4 to 8 years and what should the President do about it?
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We’re going to start, more or less, at the beginning: Joe Weiss, posting on the Unfettered Blog on November 17th:

Water System Hack – The System Is Broken

Last week, a disclosure was made about a public water district SCADA system hack. There are a number of very important issues in this disclosure: The disclosure was made by a state organization, but has not been disclosed by the Water ISAC, the DHS Daily unclassified report, the ICS-CERT, etc. Consequently, none of the water utilities I have spoken to were aware of it. It is believed the SCADA software vendor was hacked and customer usernames and passwords stolen. The IP address of the attacker was traced back to Russia. It is unknown if other water system SCADA users have been attacked. Like Maroochy, minor glitches were observed in remote access to the SCADA system for 2-3 months before it was identified as a cyber attack. There was damage – the SCADA system was powered on and off, burning out a water pump. There are a number of actions that should be taken because of this incident. Provide better coordination and disclosure by the government. Provide better information sharing with industry. Provide control system cybersecurity training and policies. Implement control system forensics.

 

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Genetically altered mosquitoes: a tale of two headlines

Andrew Pollack, writing in the print editions of The  New York Times wrote  “Mosquito Bred to Fight Dengue Fever Shows Promise in Field Trial,” published on October 31st, 2011. We’ve been planning on switching to an all-digital subscription, but haven’t sorted out yet which plan. So we’ve often got hard copy (i.e. the print edition) in the house, often with notes about posting. But in order to reduce transcription error, and speed things up, our posts will be based on the digital edition. However, in this case searching for Pollack’s 31 October piece, we found Concerns Raised about Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes, dated 30 October 2011. An initial line-by-line comparison of the two  pieces (the first few grafs) suggest they’re close, if not identical.There’s nothing sinister happening here; it may merely be that, after posting the piece on NYTimes.com, editors thought better of the headline. (If you’re confused about the sequence, bear in mind that the earlier piece, which made print editions dated 31 October, had to be committed to print on the evening of the 30th; the on-line edition may have been originally posted on the 30th, but revised any number of times since its posting.

 

Reseaarchers on Sunday reported initial signs of success from the first release into the environment of mosquitoes engineered to pass a lethal gene to their offspring, killing them before they reach adulthood. The results, and other work elsewhere, could herald an age in which genetically modified insects will be used to help control agricultural pests and insect-borne diseases like dengue fever and malaria. But the research is arousing concern about possible unintended effects on public health and the environment, because once genetically modified insects are released, they cannot be recalled. Authorities in the Florida Keys, which in 2009 experienced its first cases of dengue fever in decades, hope to conduct an open-air test of the modified mosquitoes as early as December, pending approval from the Agriculture Department. “It’s a more ecologically friendly way to control mosquitoes than spraying insecticides,” said Coleen Fitzsimmons, a spokeswoman for the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. The Agriculture Department, meanwhile, is looking at using genetic engineering to help control farm pests like the Mediterranean fruit fly, or medfly, and the cotton-munching pink bollworm, according to an environmental impact statement it published in 2008. Millions of genetically engineered bollworms have been released over cotton fields in Yuma County, Ariz. Yet even supporters of the research worry it could provoke a public reaction similar to the one that has limited the acceptance of genetically modified crops. In particular, critics say that Oxitec, the British biotechnology company that developed the dengue-fighting mosquito, has rushed into field testing without sufficient review and public consultation, sometimes in countries with weak regulations.

More from Pollacs’s piece (both versions):

Dr. Alphey said the technique was safe because only males were released, while only females bite people and spread the disease, adding that it should have little environmental impact. “It’s exquisitely targeted to the specific organism you are trying to take out,” he said.

The company is focusing on dengue fever rather than malaria because a single mosquito species is responsible for most of its spread, while many species carry malaria. Also, unlike for malaria, there are no drugs to treat dengue, and bed nets do not help prevent the disease because the mosquito bites during the day. There are 50 million to 100 million cases of dengue each year, with an estimated 25,000 deaths. The disease causes severe flulike symptoms and occasionally, hemorrhagic fever. The Oxitec technique, however, is not foolproof. Alfred M. Handler, a geneticist at the Agriculture Department in Gainesville, Fla., said the mosquitoes, while being bred for generations in the lab, can evolve resistance to the lethal gene and might then be released inadvertently.

Todd Shelly, an entomologist for the Agriculture Department in Hawaii, said in a commentary published on Sunday by Nature Biotechnology that 3.5 percent of the insects in a lab test survived to adulthood despite presumably carrying the lethal gene.

Also, the sorting of male and female mosquitoes, which is done by hand, can result in up to 0.5 percent of the released insects being female, the commentary said. If millions of mosquitoes were released, even that small percentage of females could lead to a temporary increase in disease spread.

Oxitec and a molecular biologist, Anthony A. James of the University of California, Irvine, say they have developed a solution — a genetic modification that makes female mosquitoes, but not males, unable to fly. The grounded females cannot mate or bite people, and separating males from females before release would be easier.

In a test in large cages in Mexico, however, male mosquitoes carrying this gene did not mate very successfully, said Stephanie James, director of science at the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, which oversaw the project.

Experts assembled by the World Health Organization are preparing guidelines on how field tests of genetically modified insects should be conducted. Proponents hope the field will not face the same opposition as biotechnology crops.

See also

Taliban escape tunnel effective and also profitable

We missed this account of the May 2011 Kandahar jailbreak, which has some details which, we think, should be sobering to anyone who writes off the Taliban as adversaries. They’ve demonstrated that they can learn, adapt, improvise and coordinate complicated projects involving many people without being stopped by an informant, eavesdropping of any type, or other counter-intelligence techniques. From  Taliban tunnel jailbreak account reveals initial setbacks/Tunnellers veered off course before emerging in Kandahar prison cell and leading 500 prisoners to escape, published in The Guardian (UK) on 16 May, by reporting from Kabul.

Taliban tunnellers who burrowed into Kandahar’s main jail in April dug a superfluous 120 metres after veering off course, according to an account of the prison break published by the insurgent group. The escape of nearly 500 Taliban prisoners without a shot being fired was a spectacular coup for the group. But the version of events that appeared last week in al-Somood, an Arabic magazine published by the Taliban, revealed the setback after the tunnel, which was supposed to enter the wing of the prison housing political prisoners, veered off to the right, “reaching a village close to the prison”. The problem was rectified after insurgents “downloaded the prison map from the internet”. and used “earth measurement tools” to dig 100m back to where they needed to be, according to a translation published on the website of Alex Strick van Linschoten, a researcher who studies the Taliban. The tunnellers had difficulties ensuring they emerged in the right cell in the political prisoners’ wing of Sarposa jail. They were assisted by one of a few inmates who were in on the plot. He found excuses to bang loudly on his cell floor to guide the tunnellers. All inmates except two conspirators were corralled into a Qur’an recitation session in order to keep secret that the tunnellers had successfully pushed a test blade through the floor. With the Arab world an important source of funds for insurgents, the articles go out of their way to demonstrate the remarkable cunning and organisational skills of a small group who pulled off a feat that David Petraeus, commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, conceded was a “setback” to improving security in the south. Just two weeks after their escape, many former prisoners took part in a two-day assault on government buildings in Kandahar . The article said the mission cost $20,000 (£12,000), with the bill offset by a business enterprise. Tunnelling began from a building outside the prison walls that the Taliban turned into a cement workshop, which employed workers and produced building materials. Work began on the tunnel only after the cement workers had finished work for the day, and cement blocks produced during the five-month operation were sold “making much profit”. The Taliban made more money from the earth excavated by the tunnellers, which they drove out of the compound in trucks and sold in a nearby market, the article said. The magazine carried an interview with Muhammad Idris, a 23-year-old escapee, who described being told of the escape attempt just hours before it happened, and the moment when tunnellers burst through the prison’s concrete floor using metal poles and car jacks. Taliban commanders did not allow prisoners to carry luggage in order to prevent delays, and anyone with more than about $65 in cash had their extra money redistributed to other prisoners. The process of getting all the prisoners through the main tunnel, as well as a secondary spur that led to a detention area, was eased by a telephone wire that ran through the tunnel and allowed commanders to talk to one another. Weapons were brought so “state spies” in the political wing could be dealt with. “The decision was made if such spies were to cause trouble or attempt telling the prison guards we would kill them by these arms and knives,” Idris said.The articles revealed that the Taliban customised conventional wheelbarrows by attaching wheels from children’s bicycles bought in a local market, which they then dragged through the tunnel with ropes. The finished structure boasted a ventilation tube and 45 electric lights.

(Emphasis added)

See also

NATO: Taliban prison attack, “isolated incident”

 

Rebecca Boyle/Popular Science: capturing water from diesel exhaust

From Popular Science (PopSci.com),  New Condensation Tech Captures Drinkable Water From Diesel Exhaust, by Popular Science correspondent Rebecca Boyle. 

A new condensation process captures water from burning diesel fuel, and is so efficient that it could theoretically produce a gallon of water from a gallon of diesel, using lightweight materials. As an added bonus, the process removes contaminants, so about 65 to 85 percent of that water could be recovered for drinking water or other uses.

The system could also be used for other applications, such as capturing vapor from power plant exhaust or even adding weight to a new generation of dirigibles to help them land, the Register reports. The trick is a new inorganic membrane that uses capillary action to condense the water from the diesel’s exhaust. The diesel exhaust runs through a series of ceramic tubes, which contain microscopic pores. The pores suck up the water vapor, which passes through to the other side. MSNBC explains the process in more detail.

Original sources: The Register, Cosmic Log  and Wikimedia Commons (image).

Cholera still critical in Haiti

Sean Casey of the International Medical Corps, writing on November 7th, at the Poverty Matters Blog, a feature of The Guardian (UK).

I look forward to the day we can all celebrate the defeat of cholera in Haiti. Yet, one year after the first cases appeared, many in the international community are rushing to this conclusion too soon. Thanks to the efforts of NGOs and funding from international donors, such as the humanitarian aid department of the European Commission (Echo), case fatality rates have dropped significantly since the early days of Haiti’s cholera epidemic.

However, this success is fragile – indeed, since the end of August and the arrival of the rainy season, the number of cases has risen again, particularly in Haiti’s Sud department, where International Medical Corps (IMC) is the main cholera response agency. If NGOs are not adequately resourced to provide critical cholera prevention and treatment services, and to support the Haitian government in the areas where it is able to provide services, cases will rise and more people will die.

It is now a year since those first cholera cases emerged, and encouraging statistics have caused some donor agencies to declare the emergency phase over. But this remains an emergency that has only temporarily abated. If funding is cut and services closed, infection rates will rise and the relatively low fatality rates that have been achieved thanks to NGO interventions will quickly increase.

Cholera thrives where water systems are weak and sanitation poor. A history of poverty, natural disaster, neglected public water and sanitation systems, and under-resourced health infrastructure has magnified the impact of cholera in Haiti. It is estimated that 80% of Haitians do not have access to latrines and more than half of the population lacks access to safe drinking water.

The US government’s health and safety agency, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has called these conditions a “perfect storm for a massive epidemic of cholera”. As of 14 October, about a year from the start of the epidemic, Haiti’s ministry of health reported 473,649 cases of cholera and 6,631 deaths attributed to it across all 10 of the country’s departments. Haiti is experiencing one of the worst cholera outbreaks in recent memory, and because this epidemic followed the 2010 earthquake and decades of political instability, it has limited capacity to mount a home-grown response.

We will only be able to declare victory over cholera when Haitians have access to toilets and safe water, the government has the resources and the capacity to manage cholera (and Haiti’s other health concerns) on its own and reliance on donor funding and NGO partners is no longer needed. Until then, donors and governments must acknowledge that cholera is still an emergency and respond accordingly. Haiti is like a patient on life support – if donors pull the plug now, the patient will not survive on its own.

Cholera in Haiti: still an emergency by Sean Casey of the International Medical Corps

Some of our earlier posts about  cholera:

Cholera in Iraq

Cholera outbreak(s) in Iraq – from Effect Measure

Three Cases of Cholera Confirmed by City Officials – NYTimes.com

 

'major drug tunnel' under Mexico border; how drug prohibition creates opportunities for terrorists

Assuming – for argument’s sake – law enforcement finds all of these tunnels eventually – each completed tunnel which is found presumably is a conduit for some amount of contraband; further, tunnels are only one capital-intensive way of moving profitable loads of banned goods (submersible and small submarines being another example). How  does it make economic sense to build a tunnel which will, eventually and inevitably be discovered, wasting the capital investment? Because the illegality of the drugs creates artificially high prices, generating sufficient revenues to build tunnels, bribe government officials, and buy submarines.

A methodical terrorist who could make a deal with a drug smuggler could easily piggy-back a load of weapons, explosives or personnel. NB: the September 11th attacks were conducted by 19 people who, as far as we know, acquired whatever weapons they needed within the United States. If we want to shut down the narco gangsters, and plug these holes in our border security, we’re going to have to take the profit out of it. That means, we think, decriminalizing, regulating, and taxing illegal drugs. In the meantime, courtesy of the BBC, the latest border tunnel:

US officials say they have uncovered a major drug-smuggling tunnel under the border with Mexico and seized an estimated 14 tons of marijuana. Customs officials said the tunnel linked warehouses in Tijuana, Mexico, and Otay Mesa, in California. Pictures of the tunnel showed wooden supports and electric cables indicative of lighting and ventilation systems. Dozens of such tunnels have been found in recent years as US police have cracked down on overland smuggling. More than 30 have been discovered this year, Mexican authorities said, according to AFP news agency. The tunnels are also used to smuggle illegal migrants into the US. Nine or 10 tons of marijuana was found on the US side of the tunnel while Mexican police seized five tons on their end, said Derek Benner, a special agent with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The tunnel was estimated at 400 yards (365m) in length but it was not clear how deep or wide it was. Other tunnels found by US police have included tracks, lights and ventilation systems.

US police find ‘major drug tunnel’ under Mexico border  (via BBC)

 

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NYPD Shield Assessment for Occupy Wall St, Nov 17

NYPD SHIELD Countering Terrorism through Information Sharing| |Follow LJF97 on Twitter Tweet |NYPD Shield, NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau, Terrorism Threat Analysis Group, “Countering Terrorism Through Information Sharing” sent me an email:

RE: NYPD SHIELD – Plans for All-Day “Mass Non-Violent Direct Action” On November 17th, 2011

Demonstrations are scheduled to take place in multiple locations throughout the five boroughs of New York City on Thursday, November 17th, 2011.  To view a copy of our assessment containing information regarding these demonstrations, please log into our website at secure.nypdshield.org and click on the Plans for All-Day “Mass Non-Violent Direct Action” On November 17th, 2011 PDF file under “Features.”

Regards,

NYPD SHIELD

I logged in. Downloaded the PDF. Here’s the text of the assessment:

Plans for All-Day “Mass Non-Violent Direct Action” on November 17th

Executive Summary

Demonstrations are scheduled to take place in multiple locations throughout the five boroughs of New York City on Thursday, November 17th.

Stated locations for mass demonstrations include the New York Stock Exchange and Foley Square.

Goals of the demonstrations include occupying subway trains, bridges in New York City, and Foley Square.

Advertisements for the demonstrations are being disseminated on various websites, online forums, social media groups, and blogs associated with the hacking group Anonymous, and the event has already received coverage in mainstream media sources.

Background

Recently, posts appeared on websites associated with groups engaged in protests in New York City and other cities announcing all-day citywide public demonstrations opn Thursday, November 17th. The demonstrations, labeled the day of Mass Non-Violent Direct Action!, are being heavily publicized and have three goals: 1) Shut Down Wall Street; 2) Occupy the Subways; and 3) Take The Square (referring to Foley Square). Organizers of the planned demonstration hope that many thousands of people will participate.  Although the planned demonstrations call for non-violent direct action, in recent weeks protests in other cities in the United States and Europe have led to riots, clashes with law enforcement, physical assaults, and property damage.

Schedule of Public Actions on November 17th

  • Shut Down Wall Street
    • Time: 7:00 AM
    • Location: New York Stock Exchange, Lower Manhattan
    • Description: This demonstration is planned to begin at Zuccotti Park and lead to a mass-gathering in front of the New York Stock Exchange prior to the opening bell of the market.
  • Occupy the Subways
    • Time: 3:00 PM
    • Description: This demonstration is planned to involve multiple groups protesting on subway platforms and trains.
  • Take The Square
    • Time: 5:00 PM
    • Location: Foley Square, Lower Manhattan
    • Description: This demonstration is planned to follow Occupy the Subways and to involve large groups gathering and then marching to “the bridges.”

I agree with the many of the Occupiers, and with members of the Tea Party, that there are profound systemic challenges facing the United States, and humanity; however, the goals noted above, along with Tea Party solutions as enunciated by Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Rick Perry, Paul Ryan, etc., are patently absurd.  While the Tea Party can shut down the Federal Government – many are members of Congress – the Occupiers cannot “Shut Down Wall Street.” They are unarmed. They wear t-shirts, sweat-shirts, and jeans. The NYPD officers surrounding Zuccotti Park are heavily armed and wear riot gear. Similarly, based on my personal observations and my reading news accounts, primarily in the NY Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, it seems that most of the physical assaults and much of the property damage described in the analysis portion of NYPD Shield’s “Threat Assessment” was committed by members of the police and directed against the protesters; including, for example, clearing Zuccotti Park and destroying the property of the occupiers, beginning 1:30 AM local time, Tuesday, November 15. (Note comment 19, to the NY Times Editorial “The Mayor Confronts the Occupiers“. The Mayor DIDN’T confront the occupiers. The Mayor sent in the police who arrested many and destroyed whatever property was left.)

Having said that, I must note that the writers and editors of Popular Logistics are not associated with the hacking group “Anonymous.”  And I also would like to respectfully point out that NYPD Shield is, ironically, one of the “online forums, social media groups, and blogs” that is disseminating information – essentially advertising – the demonstrations. (Obviously, Popular Logistics is another.)

NYPD_Shield.Assessment.Mass_Nonviolent_Direct_Action_11_17_2011

Occupy Wall Street – Stay Awake – Save The Baby

Occupy Wall Street, OWS

| |Follow LJF97 on Twitter Tweet |  In ending the camp-out phase of Occupy Wall Street, Mayor Brookfield and Judge Stallman did the Occupy movement a favor.  The Occupiers can claim victory. Now they can focus on delivering the message –
  • Economic Democracy – We must build sustainable economic systems which recognize that Earth is a stakeholder, that economic activity must be in harmony with earth / the biosphere.
  • We May Occupy Wall Street – But No Sleeping and Banksters need Watchin’ – You can’t shut your eyes when the “Banksters” are in town – there must be strong regulations such as those both presidents Roosevelt put in place to regulate the railroads (Theodore) and the financial industry (Franklin).
  • Dismantle the Revolving Doors between Wall Street and Washington (And City Hall)!

And do so without worrying about the logistics problems of food, water, shelter, sanitation, medical care, all of which are important – they are, after all, why they are there.

Mayor Brookfield threw out the bath. Let’s save the baby!

See also –