"In a democracy (‘rule by mob’), those who refuse to learn from history will be the majority and will dictate that everyone else suffer for their ignorance."
Perhaps that ought to be “banking in the future,” but the clip linked here (found at Jerry Pournelle’s place) is about much more than banking. Nevertheless, one insight into banking is offered in the talk by Juan Enriquez that I thought I’d tickle your interest with…
The eventual topic Enriquez gets to is mind-boggling new tech and how it will affect us, so do CLICK and watch. Lots more at the TED site.
The (in)Justice Department is trying to get a law firm and public interest group to stand down on its lawsuit claiming the AIG bailout violates the Establishment clause of the First Amendment.
…in December the Thomas More Law Center filed a constitutional challenge to that portion of the “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008” that appropriated $40 billion in taxpayer money to fund and financially support the federal government’s majority ownership in AIG. Spokesman Brian Rooney says his firm filed suit because AIG has a board that supervises insurance policies for Islamic customers so they will comply with Sharia law. That, says Rooney, violates the Establishment Clause.
The Thomas More Law Center isn’t backing down. Sauce for the goose. the ACLU (and various feddle gummint agencies through the years) have been steadily encroaching on the Free Exercise clause under the guise of enforcing the Establishment clause. Let’s see if stare decisis applies when the shoe is on the other foot.
Trackposted to Rosemary’s Thoughts, and The World According to Carl, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
What can I say that John Crace hasn’t already said better?
Barack Obama: “I, I, would say that, er … pause [I HAVEN’T A CLUE] … if you look at … pause [WHO IS THIS NICK ROBINSON JERK?] … the, the sources of this crisis … pause [JUST KEEP GOING, BUDDY] … the United States certainly has some accounting to do with respect to . . . pause [I’M IN WAY TOO DEEP HERE] … a regulatory system that was inadequate to the massive changes that have taken place in the global financial system … pause, close eyes [THIS IS GOING TO GO DOWN LIKE A CROCK OF SHIT BACK HOME. HELP]. I think what is also true is that … pause
And more of the same The-O!-minus-his-brainteleprompter at the link. Stuff too good to pass.
One just has to stand in awe of His Golden Tonguedness’ smooth and facile public speaking. (If one is a brainless idiot, one does.)
Trackposted to Nuke’s, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, The Pink Flamingo, Woman Honor Thyself, Right Voices, and The World According to Carl, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
It’s the little things. Inability to discern between “same,” “different,” “similar” and other such general classes is a hallmark of society’s sheeple. Those who cannot count past two without the aid of an external device, set the time on their microwave, or tell the difference between two similar but different classes (“politicians” and “public servants,” for example) are a large reason why our ever more democratized (ruled by mob) society is headed toward the ash heap of history.
Take this simple, rather innocuous, example of a failure to differentiate (discriminate) between two similar but very different things:
“…the name Sweet’N’Low comes from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem of the same name…”
The same name?
SWEET and low, sweet and low,
Wind of the western sea,
Low, low, breathe and blow,
Wind of the western sea!
Over the rolling waters go,
Come from the dying moon, and blow,
Blow him again to me;
While my little one, while my pretty one, sleeps.
Nope. Not “the same name” but “Sweet and low”. Similar but different.
Of course, “Sweet’N’Low” is close enough for government work…
And that’s a problem. The “government work” performed by sheeple every time they vote relies on just such quotidian sloppiness of thought and inability to distinguish between classes and objects. Besides, who would trust people elected by those who can’t even set the clock on their microwaves?
So, North Korea has a popgun… sorta. But that’s not what disturbs me so. Subliterate dumbasses rule the Mass Media Podpeople Hivemind:
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea’s rocket may have fallen into the sea, but military experts cautioned Monday against calling it a complete failure, noting that it traveled twice as far as any missile the country has launched.
What disturbs me is that I estimate that approaching 100% of politicians *spit*, Mass Media Podpeople and Academia Nut Fruitcakes, and at least 90% of the American public wouldn’t see anything wrong with the sentence above. *sigh* Expand “In a democracy (”rule by mob”), those who refuse to learn from history are in the majority… ” to include people who can’t count or even think.
There’s nothing like a good crisis for effecting a political control of private resources, is there?
Obama Wants to Control the Banks
There’s a reason he refuses to accept repayment of TARP money……The chairman offers to write a check, now, with interest. He’s been sitting on the cash for months and has felt the dead hand of government threatening to run his business and dictate pay scales. He sees the writing on the wall and he wants out. But the Obama team says no, since unlike the smaller banks that gave their TARP money back, this bank is far more prominent. The bank has also been threatened with “adverse” consequences if its chairman persists. That’s politics talking, not economics.
Think about it: If Rick Wagoner can be fired and compact cars can be mandated, why can’t a bank with a vault full of TARP money be told where to lend? And since politics drives this administration, why can’t special loans and terms be offered to favored constituents, favored industries, or even favored regions? Our prosperity has never been based on the political allocation of credit — until now.
Meanwhile, The O! wants to put everything but hopenchange back into Pandora’s Box. (And stop the tide from coming in and turn everything he touches into gold and all other manner of mythical accomplishments.) Will the Republic survive The O!? Will the planet? Film at eleven (of The Beast in another ugly dress, posing as Jackie O.)
I don’t know which is worse, President “Fifi” Bush holding hands with a Saudi “Prince” (read “Thug” for “Prince”) or The O! bowing to a foreign potentate (thug). You make the call”
Meanwhile, at least 31 States have introduced (and some have passed) bills affirming the 10th Amendment. Perhaps there is some small hope for The Founders’ Constitution still remaining.
The odious Senator Ted Stevens was apparently another easy target for federal persecutors’ implementation of the central principal of modern governance: anarcho-tyranny or, “going after a ‘safe criminal'”. Until–this time, finally–federal persecutors got caught cooking the evidence. What republic can long survive when its people rightly view its law enforcement as capricious at best, normally corrupt.
Hmmm… notalotta encouragement from what passes as news nowadays, eh? Some, but not much. And what there is of encouragement doesn’t seem to find its way into Mass Media Podpeople Hivemind “reportage”.
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What’s “A sushi cooking show”? I mean, after all, if you cook sushi, it’s not sushi, right? *heh*
N.B. I sent an email out last week mentioning this to some folks, but it bears repeating.
There’s a relatively new “botnet” called Psyb0t that is making the rounds mostly in Europe, South America and Asia, that attacks poorly-secured routers that use a specific Linux implementation. Infected routers experience the botnet as a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack. It is, at this time, not thought to have gotten much penetration into North America, but taking common sense steps to secure your router is easy and ought to be done in any case. ANY router/firewall that uses the specific Linux protocols this botnet targets is vulnerable UNLESS it is properly secured.
The good news is that proerly securing a router/firewall from infection by this botnet is a trivial task.
First, cycle any suspect router (unplug it and wait at least 30 seconds to up to a few minutes before plugging it in again). Apply the latest firmware updates available from the router manufacturer, make sure you have a strong admin password (see below) on the router, and if there’s an option for remote management, make sure it is NOT enabled, unless you have a VERY good reason and do have a strong password at the very least.
Never, never, NEVER install a router and leave it with the default password/logon. Never.
These simple, trivial steps will keep the Psyb0t malware from infecting your router(s). And even if your router doesn’t use the particular protocol this botnet attacks, these simple steps are a Very Good Thing in any case.
A partial list of potentially vulnerable routers/firewalls is available here. Do note I said “potentially vulnerable”. Some of these routers may not use the “little-endian” Linux protocol the botnet targets, and your particular routers/firewalls may already be properly secured.
A strong password will have a minimum of eight characters that are a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers and/or symbols that do NOT spell out a word in any language (as far as you can tell–who knows every language? :-)). ANYTHING based on your own personal history, preferences or that of family members is not a good idea, either, as a general practice. And if you must write down passwords, always write them in a notebook that is kept under lock and key, and maintain strict control of the key.
Never share a password without changing it after the reason for sharing it has passed. Indeed, changing passwords on a regular basis on critical devices is a Very Good Thing.
Adapted from Ramen and Rand
Trackposted to The Pink Flamingo, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Right Truth, Conservative Cat, and The World According to Carl, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
N.B., I know I said posting would be light this week, but this is lunch time and this is light. *heh*
For Windows users: OK, so it’s even been in the Mass Media Hivemind misreporting recently. Easy thing to do:
Note the octal address in the pic below. Scan your computer using the BitDefender utility that’s there. If it finds an issue, and that issue is the conficker worm, go here, using a clean computer elsewhere and a flash drive, if necessary, and pick up the BitDefender conficker cleaner:
(Click on pic to enlarge)
After scanning and cleaning (if necessary), Visit Microsoft Updates and scan your computer for any updates, download and install. Then update your anti-virus and anti-spyware software.
You’re good to go.
Hopefully I won’t have too many folks’ computers to clean next week, but that’s their lookout. Both my readers here (*heh*) will be fine.
Notalotta posting going on this week @twc. R&R (Rest and Reflection) time.
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