Year: 2008

RIAA Employed Terrorist Takes Down Web TV Network

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MediaDefender, a criminal software firm employed by media companies to engage in illegal attacks on sites that they deem infringing, just took down the completely legal web broadcasting firm Revision3, which is, conveniently enough, a direct competitor to MediaDefender’s parent company.

It Revision3 uses BitTorrent to distribute its programming, but only its own stuff, but MediaDefender hacked in using a back door to place their own material on the server, and when this back door was shut down after it was discovered, a massive (8000/second) DDOS attack occurred.

At this point they say that they lack the resources to sue, but I’ve sent them an email saying that I would throw in a few bucks for a legal fund.

Political Kangaroo Court

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Col. Peter Brownback, the judge on the Omar Khadr case, has been dismissed by the Pentagon:

U.S. Army Col. Peter Brownback, 60, a Vietnam veteran who once admitted he was under pressure from Washington concerning Khadr’s case, was relieved of his duties yesterday and replaced by another military judge.

There was no comment from the Pentagon or the U.S. Office of Military Commissions last night concerning the short email announcing Brownback’s departure.

There had been speculation that Brownback had wanted to return to retirement, but most observers had assumed it would be at the end of Khadr’s trial.

Khadr’s military lawyer, U.S. navy Lt.-Cmdr. Bill Kuebler, said the announcement took him by surprise and suggested that the motive for the military judge’s removal was political. Brownback had refused to set a trial date for Khadr, which Kuebler said angered those eager to have his case wrapped up before a change in the U.S. administration.

“The timing is certainly suspicious,” Kuebler said yesterday. “They’re trying to get to trial as quickly as possible. The one thing you can say in (Brownback’s) favour was that he was holding the government’s feet to the fire.”

If you recall, he was 14 at the time of his alleged crimes, and as a child soldier, in civilized worlds, though apparently not in the US military tribunal system, he would be adjudged a victim, not a criminal.

In related news, It appears that the government is pulling out all the stops to make sure that the trials of the alleged 911 conspirators are a part of the presidential campaign:

The U.S. military attorneys included the claim in a 20-page brief asking the military judge to dismiss the capital charges against alleged al Qaeda kingpin Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other Guantánamo detainees.

The document includes an e-mail from a civilian member of the prosecution team proposing to set the trial date for Sept. 15, the Monday after the seventh anniversary of the suicide attacks.

”Not coincidentally,” the defense attorneys say, “that would force the trial of this case in mid-September, some seven weeks before the general elections.”

This means that the defense will be given about 3 months to prepare for 5 death penalty cases where much of the evidence is classified, which is clearly inadequate.

Deliberately Bad Real Estate Reporting

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You have an article titled California Home-Price Cuts End Sales Losing Streak, noting that home sales were up 2.5% in April.

That’s the lead. While one can be heartened by the fact that it is the first increase in 30 months, in any normal market, April is always bigger than March. The problem is that real estate reporting is hostage, so what should have been the lead, the fact that median home prices fell 32% year over year, is in the 2nd ‘graph, and there is no mention of the year over year home sales numbers, which are down 19%.

Bankers Starting to Use LIBOR Alternatives

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As a result of concerns about the accuracy of the London Interbank Offered Rate, it appears that a number of financial institutions are casting about for an alternative metrid.

This is big, because it reflects the fact that even the most mundane, and until recently rock solid, standards of the financial industry are no longer reliable, which is why money is not flowing, and is unlikely to flow.

This appears to be a slow motion car wreck that we are watching in the financial markets.

PTSD by the Numbers

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I came across this on Eric Alterman’s Altercation, in one of the letter from Ken G of Cherry Hill, NJ that he published, detailing the basics of combat related psychological stress:

Studies during World War II determined that the average rifleman in combat maintained peak efficiency up to about 90 days of cumulative combat. Thereafter, efficiency decreased and ultimately, if not otherwise wounded, they became “psychiatric casualties” after 200 to 240 cumulative days in combat. Once they became “psychiatric casualties,” soldiers could be treated and made useful again in rear echelon duties but they were rarely able to become effective combat rifle men again. It was further determined that “Rest and Recuperation” (R & R) could “stop the clock” on the cumulative days of combat, but it could not “turn back the clock.” In other words, whether a rifleman served in combat for 240 consecutive days or for 240 single days with R & R in between, they were still likely to become psychiatric casualties. Interestingly, studies during the Vietnam War initially did not seem to support the figures calculated in World War II. However, further study determined that actually the figures from World War II were correct, but, since in Vietnam a soldier was invariably a target to insurgent snipers and mortar barrages and bombs whether on a search and destroy mission or at base camp or on R & R in Saigon, the “combat clock” continued to tick even during times that were seemingly non-combat. In others words, it is not the least bit shocking that most of the men who served as riflemen for a one-year tour in Vietnam suffered from some level of PTSD upon completion of their tour.

Note that the surge required 15 months tours, so people in the military and the administration knew that they were breaking the bulk of the soldiers who are so deployed.

The New McScarfyism*

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It started innocently enough, with an ad from Dunkin’ Donuts:

Rachael Ray, who gets pictured eating in so many places that I expect the Phoenix Mars lander to snap a picture, doing an add for Dunkin’ Donuts frozen drinks.

Notice the paisley silk scarf? So did Michelle Malkin (sorry, no link to her, ever), and she claimed that it was the Arab headdress known as the Keffiyeh, and that Dunkin Donuts was “hate couture”, and an endorsement of Jihad.

Well, the donut and coffee purveyor, did not do the sane thing, which would be to suggest that Malkin needs her meds adjusted, but pulled the ad and issued an apology, once again showing how American business capitulates to Jihadists.

Why am I calling Malkin a Jihadist? Let’s compare Ray and run the numbers:

  1. Woman’s parents were born and raised in the country which has had the longest Islamist insurgency, the Phillipines?
  2. Woman born in the United States to parents who were not legal residents at the time, giving them a leg up in getting their green card, aka the, according to Malkin, an “Anchor Baby”.
  3. Uses threats and intimidation against perceived enemies, including the publication of names and addresses.
  4. Wears a Keffiyeh.

It’s pretty clear to me which one is a Jihadist.

In any case, I am now boycotting Dunkin Donuts for capitulating to a terrorist.

*Credit where credit is due. I did not come up with this term. Tritumi at SP gets credit for this.

Economics Update

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The economy grew more than previously estimated in Q1 of 2008, at an 0.9% annual rate adjusted for CPI, as opposed to the previously reported 0.6%. Note that this still a contraction, as inflation, even the official bogus CPI understates true inflation by well over 1%.

Not surprisingly, treasuries fell, as the revised numbers show more potential for inflation.

New jobless claims rose +4000 to 372,000, just above the estimate of 370,000, which, to me at least, reinforces my thoughts on the trajectory of the economy.

Crude oil prices fell to $126.62/bbl, but retail gasoline hit another record. That’s 22 straight days.

The FDIC issues a very grim report on banks, with bank profits falling by more than 50% and “problem” banks on the rise.

This is, of course, largely tied into the real estate bubble, which appears to be popping in Britain (yet again), with prices falling 2.5% over the last month, and 4.7% year over year.

In the US, I think that those people expecting a turn around will be disappointed, as 30 year fixed mortgage just topped 6%, with indications of more to come, particularly since selling the loans will become harder, as S&P just lowered the ratings on 1,326 Alt-A residential mortgage back securities (RMBS).

Whoever Did This Will Have American and Iraqi Blood on Their Hands

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There are allegations that US troops are handing out coins with Christian bible verses to the residents of Fallujah, which the military has now confirmed:


U.S. Marines are handing out this coin,
imprinted with a Gospel verse, to Fallujah residents.

At the western entrance to the Iraqi city of Fallujah Tuesday, Muamar Anad handed his residence badge to the U.S. Marines guarding the city. They checked to be sure that he was a city resident, and when they were done, Anad said, a Marine slipped a coin out of his pocket and put it in his hand.

Out of fear, he accepted it, Anad said. When he was inside the city, the college student said, he looked at one side of the coin. “Where will you spend eternity?” it asked.

He flipped it over, and on the other side it read, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16.”

and

The U.S. military confirmed Thursday that a Marine in the Iraqi city of Fallujah was passing out coins with Gospel verses on them to Sunni Muslims, a U.S. military spokesman in Fallujah told McClatchy Thursday.

A single Marine, a lone gunman, whatever.

I call bullsh$#. If someone did this, than dozens of people knew that it was being done.

New York to Recognize Same-Sex Unions From Out of State

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Kudos to Governor Patterson for directing state agencies to, “all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada.”

That sound you hear is wingnut heads exploding, as they just got outmanouevered.

This will doubtless be statute in 2009, when the NY State Senate goes Democratic.

Ahmadinejad Foe Elected Speaker of Parliament

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This is not at all surprising. Except to the degree that he inflames the west, Ahmadinejad appears to be considered the George W. Bush of Iran, a complete loser and not too bright.

Ali Larijani, the new speaker, was previously the chief negotiator for Iran’s nuclear program, but should not be considered a moderate:

Larijani, who has also been a culture minister and head of the state-run broadcasting operations, has emerged as a powerful politician in recent years, running against Ahmadinejad for president in 2005. He was a critic of the country’s nuclear policies under the reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, and opposed the decision to suspend uranium enrichment. Yet his position moderated after he became the nuclear negotiator in 2005 and tried to press back against Ahmadinejad’s radical approach, which had left Iran increasingly isolated.

He is considered close to Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the final word on state matters. Larijani remained Ayatollah Khamenei’s representative at the Supreme National Security Council despite his October resignation.