Too Much Truth

That great blog written by a young Lt. in Iraq is no more, here. It seems he violated some military protocol:

" Due to a rash posting on my part, and decisions made above my pay-grade, I have been ordered to stop posting on Kaboom, effective immediately. Though I committed no OPSEC violations, due to a series of extenuating circumstances – the least of which was me being on leave – my “The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage” post on May 28 did not go through the normal vetting channels. It’s totally on me, as it was too much unfiltered truth. I’m a soldier first, and orders are orders. So it is."

Well BZ, Lt. G! You did a great job while you were able to do so.

News from the Front

Thanks to LTC Bob Bateman for pointing out this excellent blog from a LT in IRAQ.

CYBERWAR: Follow-up

The latest on possible Chinese hacking into Capitol Hill computers. From The Hill:

More congressional computers hacked from China
By Jordy Yager
Posted: 06/21/08 03:37 PM [ET]

More Members of Congress have had their computers infiltrated by hackers within China than initially suspected, a lawmaker has revealed.

Reps. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), Chris Smith (R-N.J.), and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) admitted to having data removed from their Capitol Hill computers last week, but Wolf says there are more.

“I’m not at liberty to say who they are, but there are other members,” said Wolf, ranking member on the Appropriations Committee’s State and Foreign Operations subcommittee.

Computers within the Foreign Affairs Committee, on which Smith serves as a senior Republican, were also infiltrated. Kirk suspects that other committees may have been attacked as well.

“I would suspect that the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Intelligence, (and) Appropriations committees would all be top targets,” Kirk said.

Wolf and Smith said they believe the hackers focused on them because of their continued objections to China’s human rights violations, and suspected that the hackers were looking for information on dissidents.

The computers of Wolf’s foreign policy and human rights staff, chief of staff, legislative director, and judiciary staff were all attacked.

“They got everything,” Wolf said, at a news conference.

The vast amount of information that the attacks, which occurred over the past two years, may have acquired from the computers has lawmakers concerned that the hackers may be selling it to other countries.

“China has a record of selling things to certain countries,” Wolf said.

...

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he did not know how many offices had been hacked but that the House was taking steps to address the security lapses.

“The Committee on House Administration is working with the House Information Resources people to implement addition safeguards,” Boehner said.

Smith said initially he thought his computers had a glitch or a virus of some kind but after the second time his computers crashed, he knew something was wrong. When he told Wolf about the incidents several months ago, Wolf confirmed it had happened to him as well and proposed to alert their colleagues.

One of the FBI’s highest priority is protecting the United States against cyber attacks and high-tech crimes.

“Computer systems control all critical infrastructures, and nearly all of these systems are linked together through the Internet,” Wolf said on the House floor. “This means that nearly all infrastructures in the United States are vulnerable to being attacked, hijacked or destroyed by cyber means…The potential for massive and coordinated cyber attacks against the United States is no longer a futuristic problem.”(emphasis TRM)

Driving Mr. McCain

There are a couple of interesting stories in today's Washington Post.

This one says that McCain has been achieving a tactical advantage by establishing the issue of the day and forcing Barack Obama to respond. As long as the issue is national security, McCain may be on more solid ground, but how is he going to avoid the pocketbook issues of health care, inflation, and oil? And can you read this paragraph without thinking of McCain's horrendous performance in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago when he stood in front of a bile-green background and smiled as though rigor mortis had set in?

Several Republican supporters of the presumptive nominee said they were puzzled by a series of easily avoidable mistakes, including sloppy political stagecraft and poorly timed comments that undercut McCain's reputation as a maverick.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.. WELL, MOSTLY PREJUDICE

This story hits the mark that I established a few weeks ago. Prejudice will have a major impact on this year's election. Race versus age. Will blacks vote for Obama in incredible numbers? Yes. Will that vote take place in states previously safe in Republican hands, such as North Carolina and Georgia. Bet on it. Will the black vote be large enough to give those electoral votes to Obama? Maybe. Will Ohio and Michigan vote for Obama? Maybe, but perhaps not in the numbers that a white Democrat would receive as evidenced by Hillary Clinton's victories over Obama in primaries held in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan. (While the Michigan primary was held against party rules, and Obama was not on the ballot there, the demographics of that state correspond closely with those of Ohio and Pennsylvania.) We could see Obama shred the Nixonian "Southern Strategy" that gave the South to the Republicans for forty years, only to lose the election in the more conservative areas of the North.

One the other hand, McCain faces the task of overcoming the perception that he is too old for the job. Obama has already made a thrust in this direction when the said McCain had "Lost his bearings". Certainly, McCain doesn't look as dynamic and youthful as Obama does, and sharing a stage with the lithe Democrat will be a visual disaster for the Republican. Regardless of how his mind operates, the effects of years of torture and imprisonment at the hands of the North Vietnamese is obvious, as McCain moves his body rigidly and with evident pain.

Nonetheless, the Democrats had better realize that, historically, the so-called youth-vote has never materialized, while the geezers flock to the polls.

The demographics, tainted by both racism and age-ism, create far too many permutations for any pollster to accurately tease out to make valid predictions at this time. So while today's poll assessment by the Votemaster still shows a healthy lead for Obama on an electoral college basis, I disagree with his assessments for any state where one candidates lead is less than the margin of error for the poll. That puts into play the following states: Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, a total of 137 electoral votes.

The battle has not yet been fully joined and the issue is in doubt.

Money, Money, Money, Money

If you thought the results of the presidential election was a slam-dunk for Barack Obama, take a deep breath into a paper bag and stop hyperventilating. In politics, a week is an eternity, to coin a phrase, and from today to November is time beyond human comprehension.

Republicans have always been the party of money. Once, I was taxing a small airplane into an FBO at Tampa International Airport just before George Bush was supposed to appear for a fund raiser. The number of large private jets, owned by Republican fat cats, was mind boggling, and it filled the airport parking area.

It seems that the Republican wallets are starting to open for John McCain, as he has just had his best fund raising month. Why not? Where else can Republicans go? They have to protect their position and they can't be accused of abandoning their party's candidate.

Look for the 527 organizations to jump in soon and more mud and muck to fly than you find in a pig sty.

No matter which sports metaphor you like, the game has just started and the final gun doesn't sound until November 4th. As that say in the movie, "All About Eve", "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy flight!". The race might not always be to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but never bet against the big money.

Creeps, E-Mail, and the Economy

I came across this story while tracking down some items about those creeps at Bears Stearns who knew the sub-prime mortgage market was about to blow up and yet they continued to advise their clients to invest in these schemes.

These guys seemed to know what they were doing and took active measures to prevent the possible discovery of their wrong-doing by using out of office e-mail:

A few days later, Mr. Tannin, who was known within the group as a worrier, sent an e-mail message to Mr. Cioffi in which he suggested closing down the funds after a report showed that the securities they were holding were rapidly losing value. “If the report was true, the entire sub-prime market was toast,” he wrote to Mr. Cioffi. The sub-prime market looked “pretty dam ugly,” he wrote from his home, early Sunday morning.

It was a radical proposition from one of the funds’ managers, and Mr. Tannin took the precaution of not using Bear’s e-mail system, prosecutors said. He sent the note to the e-mail account of Mr. Cioffi’s wife.

Ok. So the guy sets up his innocent wife to be involved in his scheme. Creep! (Someone should tell these guys that a call from a public phone booth would make track back a bit harder than using the company e-mail system. Bu they are addicted to their Blackberries and electronic devices. Welcome to the wired world!)

Medicated Nation..

From MILITARY.COM

Antidepressant Use Soars Among Deployed
Stars and Stripes | June 12, 2008
For the first time in history, a sizable and growing number of U.S. combat troops are taking daily doses of antidepressants to calm nerves strained by repeated and lengthy tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a report in Time Magazine.

And from TIME directly:

For the first time in history, a sizable and growing number of U.S. combat troops are taking daily doses of antidepressants to calm nerves strained by repeated and lengthy tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The medicines are intended not only to help troops keep their cool but also to enable the already strapped Army to preserve its most precious resource: soldiers on the front lines. Data contained in the Army's fifth Mental Health Advisory Team report indicate that, according to an anonymous survey of U.S. troops taken last fall, about 12% of combat troops in Iraq and 17% of those in Afghanistan are taking prescription antidepressants or sleeping pills to help them cope. Escalating violence in Afghanistan and the more isolated mission have driven troops to rely more on medication there than in Iraq, military officials say.

So we've moved from " shell schock" to "battle fatigue" to "pop a pill".Years ago the Rolling Stones called it "Mother's Little Helper". But now it's the Army's.

Truest Sign that the Economy has Gone to Hell

This from Newsweek:

According to George Flint, Director of the Nevada Brothel Owners' Association, revenue for the 25 businesses in his membership organization is down by as much as 45 percent. The reason: Sex for money may be recession resistant but it's not recession proof. "Business is in a lower slump than I've ever seen it before," Flint says.

End of the World Part Deux

Michael Writes

Think about fusion and fission - opposite processes (creating bonds/breaking bonds) but both release energy. This one is somewhat circular - water to hydrogen to water - it certainly smacks of a perpetual motion machine - but not to worry, as you have read there are many losses in the system. No generation system is very efficient.

Think about nuclear reactors (or gas or coal) - we cause radioactive material to fission at a controlled pace which heats water flowing through a series of pipes which flashes to steam and expands which turns the blades of a turbine which causes a coil to rotate inside another coil which creates and collapses a magnetic field which causes electricity to flow in a wire. Think about all the energy losses in THAT chain. Yes we are a far far way from something that will be as universal as the gas car, but with any luck we'll get there before we run out of gas

And TRM Replies

I would think most informed people, and that includes those people who read this blog, understand about the inefficiencies of engines, and that includes hydrogen devices. My question concerned the relative efficiency of the three step process that the water car uses (water-> hydrogen->water) versus the two step process (hydrogen->water) of a car loaded with hydrogen. Which one is a more efficient system overall? Does the commercial process of creating the hydrogen gain efficiencies in scale? If your water car already has enough electricity to perform electrolysis, why not use that directly instead of losing the overall power through another step in the process. It seems the concept comes awfully close to that of a perpetual motion machine, and we all know that is impossible.


You can bet the oil companies will try to throttle a water car because there is no money for them there. On the other hand, they probably can more easily move into a hydrogen based economy because they currently have a distribution system in place. The same holds true for an electric powered vehicle, as I can see them trying to become a part of the electricity production cycle. But until those companies gain control of our water supplies, I don’t see them backing a water car. You don’t have to go to the local Exxon station to stick a garden hose into your gas tank.


What is certain is that we need to find reasonable alternative fuel sources quickly. Not only are petroleum products used for transportation, but they are also used for hundreds of products that our civilization depends upon.

Fuels

Further information: alternative fuel

* Ethane and other short-chain alkanes which are used as fuel
* Diesel fuel (petrodiesel)
* Fuel oils
* Gasoline
* Jet fuel
* Kerosene
* Liquid petroleum gas (LPG)
* Natural gas

Generally used in transportation, power plants and heating.


Other derivatives

Certain types of resultant hydrocarbons may be mixed with other non-hydrocarbons, to create other end products:

* Alkenes (olefins) which can be manufactured into plastics or other compounds
* Lubricants (produces light machine oils, motor oils, and greases, adding viscosity stabilizers as required).
* Wax, used in the packaging of frozen foods, among others.
* Sulfur or Sulfuric acid. These are a useful industrial materials. Sulfuric acid is usually prepared as the acid precursor oleum, a byproduct of sulfur removal from fuels.
* Bulk tar.
* Asphalt
* Petroleum coke, used in speciality carbon products or as solid fuel.
* Paraffin wax
* Aromatic petrochemicals to be used as precursors in other chemical production.

A partial list of products made from Petroleum (more than 6000 items)

One 42-gallon barrel of oil creates 19.4 gallons of gasoline. The rest (over half) is used to make things like:

Solvents
Diesel
Motor Oil
Bearing Grease
Ink
Floor Wax
Ballpoint Pens
Football Cleats
Upholstery
Sweaters
Boats
Insecticides
Bicycle Tires
Sports Car Bodies
Nail Polish
Fishing lures
Dresses
Tires
Golf Bags
Perfumes
Cassettes
Dishwasher
Tool Boxes
Shoe Polish
Motorcycle Helmet
Caulking
Petroleum Jelly
Transparent Tape
CD Player
Faucet Washers
Antiseptics
Clothesline
Curtains
Food Preservatives
Basketballs
Soap
Vitamin Capsules
Antihistamines
Purses
Shoes
Dashboards
Cortisone
Deodorant
Footballs
Putty
Dyes
Panty Hose
Refrigerant
Percolators
Life Jackets
Rubbing Alcohol
Insect Repellent
Oil Filters
Umbrellas
Yarn
Fertilizers
Hair Coloring
Roofing
Toilet Seats
Fishing Rods
Lipstick
Denture Adhesive
Linoleum
Ice Cube Trays
Synthetic Rubber
Speakers
Plastic Wood
Electric Blankets
Glycerin
Tennis Rackets
Rubber Cement
Fishing Boots
Dice
Nylon Rope
Candles
Trash Bags
House Paint
Water Pipes
Hand Lotion
Roller Skates
Surf Boards
Shampoo
Wheels
Paint Rollers
Shower Curtains
Guitar Strings
Luggage
Aspirin
Safety Glasses
Antifreeze
Football Helmets
Awnings
Eyeglasses
Clothes
Toothbrushes
Ice Chests
Footballs
Combs
CD's
Paint Brushes
Detergents
Vaporizers
Balloons
Gasoline

Well, you get the idea.

It makes no sense to burn this valuable resource.

All in all, it is pretty remarkable that we are so dependent on oil. We really became dependent on oil beginning in the late 1800, and then our use exploded in the early 1900s. So we are talking about a revolution that is between 100 years and 150 years old, depending on how you are counting. This is an incredibly short period of time in the history of mankind.Take a look at this chronology of petroleum and this Wikipedia entry.


Some other thoughts on the subject. Some of the more radical proponents of alternative fuels maintain that we should not permit offshore drilling. Their catchy phrase is “this is a crisis we can’t drill our way out of.” That may be true, but perhaps we can drill our way through to an alternative fuel age. If we can make the transition to another fuel, or fuels, with a more limited amount of social disruption, I think we need to seriously consider this course of action. Then there is the case to be made for coal, our most plentiful energy resource. Can there be a clean-coal process that does not pollute? And what of its costs?

Wind? Solar? The former creates environmental pollution of other types, such s noise, and wind farms aren’t the most attractive things. But I have seen them in Oklahoma and it makes sense there. Solar is another developing technology that will be used in various ways, from huge solar farms to smaller solar panels and heaters for individual homes. Finally, what about nuclear power? Is this a reasonable alternative? Can we harness the power of nuclear materials without creating hazardous waste that lasts for tens of thousands of years.

I believe the answer lies in a mix of these possible solutions: wind, solar and hydro power where they are practical, nuclear where needed, and hydrogen where possible.

This truly is the end of the world as we know it. But it is not the end of the world.

A New Car!!

A couple of things bothered me about that posting regarding the car that runs on water. I just don't think the physics make sense. Look at the steps: take water, apply electric charge, perform electrolysis, capture hydrogen to mix with air in an electrolysis reaction. The efficiency of this process versus just fueling a car with hydrogen and going through the electrolysis process escapes me. Take a look at this Wikipedia entry on the subject:

Water electrolysis does not convert 100% of the electrical energy into the chemical energy of hydrogen. The process requires more extreme potentials than what would be expected based on the cell's total reversible reduction potentials. This excess potential accounts for various forms of overpotential by which the extra energy is eventually lost as heat. For a well designed cell the largest overpotential is the reaction overpotential for the four electron oxidation of water to oxygen at the anode. An effective electrocatalyst to facilitate this reaction has not been developed. Platinum alloys are the default state of the art for this oxidation. The reverse reaction, the reduction of oxygen to water, is responsible for the greatest loss of efficiency in fuel cells. Developing a cheap effective electrocatalyst for this reaction would be a great advance.

So, I just don't get this one and it sounds like phony physics. If someone can explain it to me, I would appreciate it.


Then there was the story of the new Honda fuel cell car. It was a great story. A non-polluting car .The car for the 21st Century! The I found this story in the New York Times.

Honda will make just 200 of the futuristic vehicles over the next three years, but said it eventually planned to increase production volumes, especially as hydrogen filling stations became more common. On Monday, Honda announced its first five customers, who included the actress Jamie Lee Curtis.

and then this:

Mr. Fukui said the cars cost several hundred thousand dollars each to produce, though he said that should drop below $100,000 (emphasis TRM) in less than a decade as production volumes increase.

This car is not the modern equivalent of Henry Ford's Model T, which the average guy could afford. This is for the ultra-rich and the celebrity class.

If I pay $100,000 for a vehicle, it had better have wings!

It's the End of thte World as we Know it

Cheap petroleum meant cheap gas which meant cars and traveling and suburbs. The Levittowns of the United States would not be possible without the car.

The fact is simple that our society is going to go through a cast upheaval as gasoline because as expensive as bottled water.

Cars will be smaller, slower, and cleaner, like this new one from Honda that runs on hydrogen based fuel cells. Or how about this one that reported runs on ..water!

Of course. no gas means no suburbs, because how are you going to get around without at least one car and an SUV in the garage? People will be moving back to the walkable,high density, public-transport-available cities. At least those who can afford to. While the poor folks, well, they might just live in those devalued McMansions that will hit the market in abundance as a result of a combinations of factors, including the price of gas and the mortgage melt-down. CNN ran with this story.

So, cinch those seat belts a little tighter because it's going to be a bumpy flight for a while as, after 150 years, we turn our economy away from petroleum to.. something, or some things else.

CYBERWAR

Warfare in cyberspace? Game on!

Yesterday, Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA) gave a speech on the House floor in which he admitted several of the computers in his office had been compromised, with the attacks originating in China. Since then, at least two other Congressmen have told similar tales. Wolf's speech, however, was the most specific, in that he suggested he knows what the hackers were after: files on Chinese dissidents he maintains as part of his human rights efforts

Al-Queda already uses the internet to communicate , and recruit. The Washington Post had this story in 2005.

In the snow-draped mountains near Jalalabad in November 2001, as the Taliban collapsed and al Qaeda lost its Afghan sanctuary, Osama bin Laden biographer Hamid Mir watched "every second al Qaeda member carrying a laptop computer along with a Kalashnikov" as they prepared to scatter into hiding and exile. On the screens were photographs of Sept. 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta.

And the U.S. Air Force has reactivated 'The Mighty 8th", to fight in a new environment here and here.

Fill in the Blanks

Here is a really fun site. If you want to play expert pol, pick the winning combinations for your favorite presidential candidate. Need Florida or Ohio? See how a win there, or any other state, effects the outcome of the election.

Great fun for the whole family, especially if your name is Rove or MacAulife.

Save Your Newspaper!

It's a simple fact: most newspapers are deep in the red and as a result , they are closing down or severely trimming their all-important news gathering operations.

The New York Times reports on changes coming to the Los Angeles Times under its new owner, businessman Sam Zell. How best to describe the new Los Angeles Times? How about a newspaper with no news?

Healthy newspapers perform important services in our democracy. They keep government in check. They keep citizens informed. They advocate.

Bloggers depend on their news gathering ability.

So do yourself and your country a favor and get a subscription or two to some good newspapers today!

Grace versus Gauche con't..

From "Murk Water"

Well-expressed! Hillary has shown her true colors many times, but seldom as brazenly as last week. I like to tell myself that enough people finally saw this during the campaign that they recognized a better candidate when they saw one (Obama).

Idle Speculation

With each party having its presumptive Presidential candidate, people with idle hands and minds will speculate on each party's potential vice-presidential candidates. Since I have some time to waste today, I think I'll join the fun.

For the Democrats, I think they have some intriguing possibilities. Try these: Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia. Nelson is a moderate Democrat who can bring into play his connections to try to win those critical Florida electoral votes for the Dems. He nicely balances Barack Obama in the areas of geography and philosophy. Richardson was the Democratic candidate with the most high-level experience and is well qualified to be president. Webb can put Virginia in play, but he is a recent Democrat, having been a lifelong Republican and Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Navy. A better choice might be Virginia Gov. Time Kaine, but he would take the VP slot only if he could maintain his current position should the Dems lose in November. Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania has been mentioned in an attempt to wrap up that state's electoral votes, but Rendall is Jewish and a ticket comprised of a black and a Jew... well, I don't think we have progressed that far.

On the Republican side, McCain can really steal some of Barack Obama's thunder if he convinces Alma Powell to allow her husband, Colin, to take the VP slot. Condeleeza Rice is possible but not probable, and Mitt Romney is also mentioned, but Romney can't deliver either the conservative Republican base or Massachusetts. My favorite is Powell. I think McCain might make a radical move and pick Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, who has been by his side almost constantly. Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic VP nominee is on the outs with his party ever since the leftists there got behind Ned Lamont to unseat him in a primary. Lieberman now considers himself an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, but some Dems want to toss him out of the party even though his voting record is one that any Dem, except a leftist, would be comfortable with. If McCain want to emphasize his "maverick status", keep your eyes on Powell and Lieberman.

"Communitainment"

Bill Moyers on the need for quality media/journalism, corporate influence on journalism, and the effects on our democracy.

Moyers's speech at the National Conference for Media Reform yesterday.

Thanks to NYLIB for sending this to me.

6 June

6 June 1944. D-Day. Unfortunately, the significance of this date is fading from our collective memory as the population that lived through this momentous day leaves this mortal coil.

D-Day, known for the allied invasion from England, across the English Channel and to the shores of Normandy, placed the forces of the democracies in France. Those who study these matters know it was an incredible feat of arms. My late father-in-law, who was in the embarcation ports in southern England, told me he remembers that, from horizon to horizon, the sky was filled with aircraft headed to England.

D-Day. It indicates the day of a military action. There were many "D-Days". Africa. Italy. Gaudalcanal. Peleliu. Okinawa. Iwo Jima. Anzio. Attu. Kiska. Leyte.

On 6 June, let us remember all of those "D-Days" and all of those men who offered up the ultimate sacrifice, that we might today enjoy our freedoms and follies.

Grace versus Gauche

Hillary Clinton showed her true colors tonight, and it wasn't pretty. With all Democrats readily conceding that Barack Obama has won the nomination, Hillary refused to do the right thing by conceding to reality and throwing her support to Obama. She missed an opportunity to heal the deep divisions that formed as a natural consequence of the primary battles. She failed to heed the words of the famous Tammany Hall politician, George Washington Plunkett, who said, "I seen my opportunities and I took 'em." She could have healed her party and been a leader.

With one gracious act, she could have boosted the candidacy of the Democratic candidate. Instead, what we saw was her dung colored ego demanding more television time, more newspaper ink, and more aggravation. She asked her supporters to write to her website with their opinion on her next course of action. How craven! What an incredible lack of leadership and sense of party.

Barack Obama's speech stood in very sharp contrast to Hillary's. Obama was able to articulate an overarching concept of his vision of the United States and the goals of his administration. I don't think I've heard a better speech since Ronald Reagan was in office, as Obama echoed Lincoln and King. As I always say, if you are going to steal, steal from the best, and Obama did.

Everyone will surely note that approximately forty years since Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, since Freedom Riders rode through the south, since Dr. King marched in Selma and had a dream in Washington, and since Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1964, a black American is the candidate of a major political party. We have witnessed history.


Now people will press for Obama to offer Hillary the VP slot on the ticket. There are so many reasons for not doing this: Hillary is the Washington insider and change opponent that Barack is running against; Hillary is still one of the most polarizing figures on the political scene; Hillary will not deliver one state more than John Kerry won in 2004; and certainly, Hillary kept her campaign open when she could have resolved all outstanding issues by withdrawing, thus committing an ultimate egotistical and selfish act. Don't do it Barack.