Chinese Cyber War

From The Times of London here:

A spy network believed to have been controlled from China has hacked into classified documents on government and private computers in 103 countries, according to internet researchers. The spy system, dubbed GhostNet, is alleged to have compromised 1,295 machines at Nato and foreign ministries, embassies, banks and news organisations across the world, as well as computers used by the Dalai Lama and Tibetan exiles.

The work of Information Warfare Monitor (IWM) investigators focused initially on allegations of Chinese cyber-espionage against the Tibetan exile community, but led to a much wider network of compromised machines. IWM said that, while China appeared to be the main source of the network, it had not been able conclusively to identify the hackers. The IWM is composed of researchers from an Ottawa-based think-tank, SecDev Group, and the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto.

They found that the foreign ministries of Iran, Bangladesh, Latvia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Barbados and Bhutan had been spied on remotely, and the embassies of India, South Korea, Indonesia, Romania, Cyprus, Malta, Thailand, Taiwan, Portugal, Germany and Pakistan hacked.

and this:

The IWM report said: “GhostNet represents a network of compromised computers in high-value political, economic and media locations in numerous countries worldwide. These organisations are almost certainly oblivious to the compromised situation in which they find themselves. The computers of diplomats, military attachés, private assistants, secretaries to prime ministers, journalists and others are under the concealed control of unknown assailant(s).

“In Dharamsala [the headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile] and elsewhere, we have witnessed machines being profiled and sensitive documents being removed. Almost certainly, documents are being removed without the targets’ knowledge, key-strokes logged, web cameras are being silently triggered and audio inputs surreptitiously activated.”

Chinese hackers are thought to have targeted Western networks repeatedly. Computers at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other Whitehall departments were attacked from China in 2007. In the same year, Jonathan Evans, the MI5 Director-General, alerted 300 British businesses that they were under Chinese cyber-attack.

and this scary paragraph:

British intelligence chiefs have warned recently that China may have gained the capability effectively to shut down Britain by crippling its telecoms and utilities. Equipment installed by Huawei, the Chinese telecoms giant, in BT’s new communications network could be used to halt critical services such as power, food and water supplies, they said.

Of course, the Chinese take offense at being accused and try to deflect the blame back towards the accuser (a very old interrogation technique, guys!):

The Chinese Embassy in London said that there was no evidence to back up the claim that the Chinese Government was behind GhostNet and alleged that the report had been “commissioned by the Tibetan government in exile”.

Liu Weimin, a spokesman, said: “I will not be surprised if this report is just another case of their recent media and propaganda campaign. In China, it is against the law to hack into the computers of others, and we are victims of such cyber-attack. It is a global challenge that requires global cooperation. China is an active participant in such cooperation in the world.”

What is the proper assessment of these Chinese actions? Are they just performing normal intelligence gathering and probing for weak spots? Are they preparing to aid some entity in a manner which benefits their ultimate goals? Is a cyber cold war underway? What it is not, is an episode from "24".

We Were Soldiers Once...

I hope you use the link on the right side of this page to check out Joe Galloway's column in the McClatchy news organization. If you didn't catch this one, well, I'm posting it here. (As always, support your local newspapers: Take a subscription!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Joe Galloway | McClatchy Newspapers

FORT BENNING, Ga. — It was a great day for the infantry and for the U.S. Army, and it was one for the history books, as well.

On a bright, sunny spring day in Georgia, Fort Benning and the National Infantry Museum dedicated a new parade ground, and the first of what will be thousands of basic training companies broke it in by marching in review for their graduation.

Before the 125 newest soldiers in the Army set boots on that field, though, it was consecrated in a ceremony that saw veterans and descendants of veterans of eight of America's wars spread soil collected from their battlefields on the new parade ground.

Douglas Hamilton, a fifth generation descendant of Alexander Hamilton, sprinkled soil gathered from the decisive battlefield of Yorktown in the Revolutionary War.

Former Sen. Dirk Kempthorne, a great-grandson of Pvt. Charles Kempthorne of the Union Army's 3rd Wisconsin Infantry, and Henry B. Pease Jr., a descendant of Henry Lewis Benning, the Confederate commander at the Burnside Bridge, spread soil from the blood-soaked Civil War battlefield of Antietam, or Sharpsburg, as Gen. Benning probably called it.

Soil from World War I battlefields in France was spread on the parade ground by George York, son of the legendary Sgt. Alvin York, and Samuel Parker Moss, grandson of Samuel Parker of the 28th Infantry. Both York and Parker earned the Medal of Honor during World War I.

World War II was represented by soil collected from the beaches at Normandy and those of Corregidor and Guadalcanal in the Pacific. Theodore Roosevelt IV, grandson of Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who earned the Medal of Honor on D-Day at Normandy, and by Kirk Davis, son of Charles Davis, who earned the Medal of Honor at Guadalcanal, spread soil from those battlefields.

Two legendary warriors from the Korean War — Col. Ola Lee Mize, who held Outpost Harry against overwhelming odds and earned a Medal of Honor, and Gen. Sun Yup Paik, who at age 30 commanded both a division and a corps in the South Korean Army — sprinkled soil from their war's battlefields.

Then it was time to honor the infantrymen who fought in Vietnam, and two legendary old soldiers marched onto the field wearing their black cavalry Stetsons. Lt. Gen. (ret.) Hal Moore and Command Sergeant Major (ret.) Basil Plumley carried jars bearing soil collected at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley and on other Vietnam battlefields.

In the stands, a dozen or more Ia Drang veterans and other 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) veterans, most wearing the same black hats, stood at attention as Moore, 87, and Plumley, 89, carried out their mission and then saluted them.

Command Sergeant Major Marvin Hill, the senior enlisted adviser to Gen. David Petraeus at the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, spread soil collected from battlefields in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan during Operation Desert Storm and Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Actor Sam Elliott, who portrayed Sgt. Maj. Plumley in the movie "We Were Soldiers," narrated the ceremony. (Full disclosure: The movie is based on a book that Gen. Moore and I wrote.)

The program began and ended with some spectacular flying demonstrations using helicopters of the Vietnam War era, and Fort Benning once more heard distant echoes of the blades of Hueys, OH-6s and Cobra gunships.

This week's ceremony marked a partial opening of the new $100 million National Infantry Museum that adjoins the parade ground. The grand opening of the entire facility is scheduled for June 19. Fort Benning's hometown, Columbus, Georgia, provided more than 200 acres of land at the gates of the fort for construction of the Infantry Museum, and Columbus citizens, foundations and companies donated almost half the money needed to build it.

The Infantry Museum Foundation is busy rounding up the last $10 million to complete work on the displays that will fill the museum's galleries on America's wars and the infantry battles that distinguished them.

The new soldiers graduating from basic training with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry marched past the stands, which were filled not only with their proud parents and siblings, but also with the assembled VIPs and such legendary infantrymen as Gen. (ret.) David Grange and Gen. (ret.) Ed Burba and Col. (ret.) Ralph Puckett.

In the infantry and in the Army, there are good days and bad days, and a few great days. This was one of the great days.

Cyber-War (continued)

Regular readers of this blog (Which I suspect includes members of various national intelligence services. Welcome, guys!) know that I write frequently about the dangers of the current and ongoing "cyberwar" being conducted by various governmental and non-governmental entities, such as China and Al Qeada, respectively.

Therefore, I am not shocked by this MSNBC story headline:

TORONTO - A cyber spy network based mainly in China has tapped into classified documents from government and private organizations in 103 countries, including the computers of Tibetan exiles, Canadian researchers said Saturday.

The work of the Information Warfare Monitor initially focused on allegations of Chinese cyber espionage against the Tibetan community in exile, and eventually led to a much wider network of compromised machines, the Internet-based research group said.

"We uncovered real-time evidence of malware that had penetrated Tibetan computer systems, extracting sensitive documents from the private office of the Dalai Lama," investigator Greg Walton said.

and this:

In an online abstract for "The Snooping Dragon: Social Malware Surveillance of the Tibetan Movement," Shishir Nagaraja and Ross Anderson write that while malware attacks are not new, these attacks should be noted for their ability to collect "actionable intelligence for use by the police and security services of a repressive state, with potentially fatal consequences for those exposed."

They say prevention against such attacks will be difficult since traditional defense against social malware in government agencies involves expensive and intrusive measures that range from mandatory access controls to tedious operational security procedures.

When you combine China's active cyber warfare efforts with the recent determinations by our government of Chinese military buildups here and here and the Secretary of Defense's Annual Report to Congress :Military Power of the People’s Republic of China here, one is forced to conclude that the Chinese government is in the midst of a long-term and well thought out campaign to construct a modern military force that includes air, naval, space and cyber capabilities with long range and international capabilities.

GarryOwen!

(Giving credit where credit is due: Here)

Just because I can!

AIG-RIP

Like a Mafia capo who just joined the federal witness protection program AIG is in the process of undergoing cosmetic surgery and disappearing from view.

This almost universally known t.v. scene-setter is no more.





As you can see in this story, AIG wants to undergo a metamorphosis into AIU Holdings Ltd. and disappear from the news.

I took this picture of the AIG/AIU building in Manhattan today and you can see that they have already stripped the American International logo from the awning.

Cramer vs. Stewart

First round knockout by Stewart. No doubt about it. Watch Wall Street shill Jim Cramer take it on the chin here.

Come to think of it, wouldn't Jon Stewart make a terrific senator?

Another Conversation with a Friend

Friend's e-mail-a vicious little piece filled with lies:

There was a Pied Piper who said We live in the greatest country in the world. Help me change it!

*And the people said, Change is good!

Then he said, We are going to tax the rich fat-cats,

*And the people said, “Sock it to them!”

and redistribute their wealth.

*And the people said, “Show me the money!”

And then he said, Redistribution of wealth is good for everybody

*And Joe the plumber said, “Are you kidding me?”

And Joe's personal records were hacked and publicized.

*And one lone reporter asked, “Isn't that Marxist policy?”

And she was banished from the kingdom!

Then someone asked, “With no foreign relations experience, how will you deal with radical terrorists?”

And the Pied Piper said, Simple. I?ll sit down and talk with them and show them how nice we really are and they?ll forget that they ever wanted to kill us all!

Then the Pied Piper said, I'll give 95% of you lower taxes.

*And one, lone voice said, “But 40% of us don't pay ANY taxes!”

So the Pied Piper said, Then I'll give you some of the taxes the fat-cats pay!

*And the people said, “Show me the money!”

Then the Pied Piper said, I'll tax your Capital Gains when you sell your homes!

*And the people yawned and the slumping housing market collapsed.

And he said, I'll mandate employer- funded health care for EVERY worker and raise the minimum wage.

*And the people said, “Gimme some of that!”

Then he said, I'll penalize employers who ship jobs overseas.

*And the people said, “Where's my rebate check?”

Then the Pied Piper actually said, I'll bankrupt the coal industry and electricity rates will skyrocket!

*And the people said, “Coal is dirty, coal is evil, no more coal! But we don't care for that part about higher electric rates.”

So the Pied Piper said, Not to worry. If your rebate isn't enough to cover your expenses, we'll bail you out. Just sign up with ACORN and your troubles are over! Then he said, illegal immigrants feel scorned and slighted. Let's grant them amnesty, Social Security, free education, free lunches, free medical care, bi-lingual signs and guaranteed housing

*And the people said, “Ole`! Bravo!” And they made him King!

And so it came to pass that employers, facing spiraling costs and ever-higher taxes, raised their prices and laid off workers. Others simply gave up and went out of business and the economy slowed even further. Then the Pied Piper said, I am the Messiah and I'm here to save you! We'll just print more money so everyone will have enough! But our foreign trading partners said, "Wait a minute. Your dollar isn't worth what it was. You'll have to pay more."
*And the people said, “Wait a minute. That's not fair!”

And the world said, "Neither are these other, idiotic programs you've embraced. You've become a Socialist state and a second-rate power. Now you'll play by our rules!"

*And the people said, “What have we done?”

But it was too late.
If you think this is a fairy tale, open your eyes and ears. Its happening RIGHT NOW!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TRM RESPONSE:


Well, let's look at reality. The Chinese OWN around ONE TRILLION DOLLARS worth of our debt, debt that was rung up during the BUSH PRESIDENCY. They could start dumping these notes and really screw us. The fact is, they own us. They have us by the short hairs and they are telling us what to do. And all this happened during the last eight years.

China Article

So stop living in your little fantasy and see that the Republicans are NOT your friends. You don't have millions of dollars. They have screwed you and destroyed our economy. Check the record. When Carter left office for Reagan , Carter turned over a surplus. 12 years later Bush 1 turned over a deficit to Clinton. Eight years later, Clinton turned over such a surplus to Bush 2 that the Treasury was considering no longer selling certain debt instruments BECAUSE WE DIDN'T NEED THE MONEY. Then Bush and the Republicans, who controlled the presidency and BOTH houses of congress got us into this mess by too many acts of greed and stupidity. The gutted the SEC and made it a useless agency, no longer able to properly supervise the markets. too many phony securities were created that no one understood.

So pull your head out of your ass and see the light.

Love,

TRM

Why I Hate "24"

Once it was a fun show,and it brought us a hero when we sorely were in need of one, but "24" has, as they say "jumped the shark." In no specific order, here is a list of why "24" is unwatchable:

1. Cell phones always work. Never a dropped call. Never a garbled transmission. Never, "Can you hear me now?" Never out of power.

2. Jack Bauer is released from a Chinese prison, obviously a victim of torture, unshaved, ragged. After a commercial break he is fit as a fiddle and rarin' to go. Damn, the man doesn't even get a debrief, or even a meal and a drink.

3. Come to think of it, Bauer never needs to eat, or drink, or sleep, or take a piss.

4. His teammates are always in contact and ready.

5. All computer equipment works first time, every time. No need to call India and speak with "Fred" for technical support. Come to think of it, maybe this show is really a long-running advertisement for HP and Dell and Microsoft (no Macs ever seen!)?

6. A nuclear weapon explodes in Los Angeles. Ho hum. Life goes on. Traffic moves on freeways. All stores are open. People stop at Starbucks for their lattes (well, it IS L.A.!)

7. Tony was brought back from the dead.

GOLLLLY! What a Surprise! Gates Says Obama More Analytical Than Bush

Did you catch this on Meet the Press this morning. MTP Host David Gregory asked Secretary of Defense Robert Gates about the differences between President Obama and "W":

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Follow this link to read the story on MSNBC.COM

Thanks, Bill Gallo

I've been a fan of New York Daily News sports cartoonist Bill Gallo for nearly 50 years. One of the first things I look for in the New York Daily News is his cartoon, which is always on point and a true work of the newspaper cartoonists' art. ( Here is where I insert my usual supplication that my readers support their local newspapers by taking a subscription. Do it today!)

On Sundays, Gallo writes a column that usually is about sports but today he delves into the world of politics. I would like to share it with you in part and I ask that you follow this link to read it in its entirety.

President Obama said something in his speech to Congress the other night that should've gotten the attention of every American who served in uniform beginning with WWII.

I know that one paragraph grabbed me when he delivered it because I lived it.

Just a little into his speech, the President said: "In the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill sent a generation to college and created the largest middle class in history."

Hearing that I jumped up from my couch and said to my wife, "WOW! That's where we are now!" Do we now have a depression (or what else can we call it?) and aren't we presently engaging in a war? Damned if that isn't the awful truth?

The GI Bill of Rights was a godsend for all who returned home after WWII and was said to be one of the most important pieces of legislation that Congress ever passed.

BILL GALLO, THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR GREAT WORK OVER THE YEARS. IT HAS BEEN GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Cyber War

Those music file sharing site may be used for more hostile purposes. Check out this story on how the plans for the President's helicopter, Marine One, wound up in the hands of Iranians.

NBC News and msnbc.com
updated 8:55 p.m. ET, Sat., Feb. 28, 2009

A company that monitors peer-to-peer file-sharing networks has discovered a potentially serious security breach involving President Barack Obama's helicopter, NBC affiliate WPXI in Pittsburgh reported Saturday.

Employees of Tiversa, a Cranberry Township, Pa.-based security company that specializes in peer-to-peer technology, reportedly found engineering and communications information about Marine One at an IP address in Tehran, Iran.

Bob Boback, CEO of Tiversa, told WPXI-TV: "We found a file containing entire blueprints and avionics package for Marine One, which is the president's helicopter."

I continue to point out the dangers of our reliance on cyberspace. Improperly secured government offices and careless individuals open the door to cyber attacks from those who intend to do us harm. The pleasures and advantages of what "W" called "The Internets" also make us vulnerable in ways that we can not imagine. To quote one of the lead characters of a famous t.v. show of years past, "Let's be careful out there."

Battlin' Barry

Every basic management class will tell you that when you step into a new position the time to make changes is sooner rather than later. President Barack Obama apparently sneaked into a few management courses while he was getting his law degree because his action plan comes right from the management textbooks. Obama is riding high in the polls and he has not yet been sucked into the Washington political and bureaucratic mechanisms that grind up the newcomer and which prevent even the slightest element of change to breathe.

Today, Obama let us know that he expects a battle from the entrenched interests that will be threatened by his vision for the American future. And Obama basically quotes W.'s immortal words, "Bring it on!"

"These steps won't sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business. I know they're gearing up for a fight as we speak. My message to them is this: So am I.

Play this and wait until the last minute or so for the good stuff.

Obama Errors

Sure he gives a good speech, but not everything he says is true. I was shocked when he said that Americans invented the automobile (most credit can go to the Germans for that. Henry Ford is credited with inventing the production line, which made cars cheaper and more affordable).

As always, FactCheck.org is invaluable. Read their fact assessment of Obama's speech to Congress here.

If you are not familiar with FactCheck.org, let me quote from their mission statement:

We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.

The Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The APPC was established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg in 1994 to create a community of scholars within the University of Pennsylvania that would address public policy issues at the local, state and federal levels.

The APPC accepts NO funding from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbying organizations or individuals. It is funded primarily by the Annenberg Foundation.

Captives of Technology

We all love the Internet. We all love technology , and sure do love all the toys and games and other voltage vampires that with which we can clutter up our lives. But our love of technology can also have its downside. It can make us fragile and dependent and ultimately fragile and brittle.

Let me give you an example. Yesterday, I had a meeting scheduled in my office with an attorney who needed to travel from midtown Manhattan to the downtown area. An hour before the meeting she called me and said her internet had crashed and wanted to know which subway to take. When she finally arrived, I said,"you know, not too long ago people would have known to just look at the subway map in the station." She was stunned as the thought never occurred to her. She was totally dependent on her electronic life and once it crashed so did some of her ability to interact with the world. We are not talking calculating orbital mechanics, just looking at a map, and in that, her mind collapsed on itself.

Think of it. We need GPS units where once road maps were sufficient. We need individual cell phones , and in some cases multiple cell phones, to stay in touch at all times. Blackberries that keep you tethered to work 24/7. And god help the "crackberry" addict who can't get a fix.

Our military has become increasingly dependent on technology do to the level of the individual infantryman and researchers are trying mightily to hook him into an ever increasingly web of electronic complexity. I find it interesting to note that the people we currently are fighting are for the most part living a less complicated, in fact almost pre-industrial existence in mountains, and they themselves realize that their weak point is their reliance on technology, such as the internet and easily intercepted electronic communications.

Written materials exist for millennia. People still read and interpret ancient Sanskrit on written on clay tablets and Egyptian hieroglyphics on stone and parchment. Please tell me the shelf life of a book downloaded onto a Kindle? If your hard drive has ever crashed or your IPod battery died, you know the answer.

Technology makes us smarter but not wiser. We live in the milliseconds and ignore the moments. As we access a world of knowledge we lose contact with our neighbors and ourselves.

Quo Vadis?

A New Low at High Altitude.

I just knew it was going to happen. I knew it. An airline is considering installing pay toilets in its airplanes. Read this article then tell me the options if you don't have the correct change.

DUBLIN - When nature calls at 30,000 feet, is $1.40 a wee price to pay? Or could it force passengers without correct change into a whole new kind of holding pattern?

The head of budget European airline Ryanair unleashed a flood of indignation and potty humor Friday when he suggested that future passengers might be obliged to insert a British pound coin for access to the lavatory to get some in-flight relief.

Airline chief Michael O'Leary suggested that installing pay toilets would lower ticket costs and make flying, somehow, easier for all.

It's a neat trick when he says that he is doing it for the benefit of the passengers.

I still think that ultimately the airlines will address their costs and security in a manner that requires that the passengers be handled pretty much like cargo. You want to travel. Great. Get to the airport, remove all of your clothes, go through security, don a one-time-use paper gown and take enough airline supplied Valium to put you out for the duration of the flight. You'll be packed into a "personalized travel pod" (which resembles a cheap coffin) and stacked like palletized cargo in the airplane's interior, which is now entirely outfitted as a cargo carrier. Arrive at your destination, wake up, get dressed, and leave.

The airlines would love to do this. No more flight attendants to pay and pension off. An airplane packed to the gills. No Complaints. No meals, no beverages, no movies, and no crying, cranky babies (some passengers might like this, too, especially if you have every had to sit in front of a crying baby who persists in kicking your seat for 6 hours!)

Coming soon to an airline near you!

A Conversation with a Friend on the Constitution and Obama

The following is an e-mail conversation TRM had with a friend:

From: Friend
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009
To: TRM
Subject: FYI



Second Amendment Absent in Supreme Court Gun Ruling

Tony Mauro
02-24-2009

In spite of its recent support for an individual right to bear arms, the Supreme Court on Tuesday adopted an expansive reading of the federal law that bans possession of firearms by those who have been convicted of felonies or of "a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence."

The meaning of the phrase about misdemeanors was the issue in United States v. Hayes, decided by a 7-2 vote in a decision available here.

West Virginia resident Randy Hayes was prosecuted under that section of the law in 2005. The predicate crime that triggered the law in his case was a 1994 state conviction on charges of battery, where his victim was his wife.

But Hayes claimed that since the crime was simple battery, and was not specific to battery against a family member, it should not have triggered the firearm possession law. Hayes lost at the district court level, but the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, finding that the law comes into play only when the predicate crime has "as an element a domestic relationship." In other words, even though Hayes' victim actually was his wife, the appeals court said it does not count as a predicate crime because the crime was not specific to domestic violence.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the majority, said the 4th Circuit's approach would "frustrate Congress' manifest purpose" in including domestic violence crimes among the crimes that would result in loss of firearms. "If the Fourth Circuit were right in its analysis of the controlling legislation," Ginsburg said in announcing the ruling from the bench, "Congress' enactment would have been a dead letter in the majority of states from the very moment of its passage." Congress added the domestic violence provision in 1996.

In dissent, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., joined by Justice Antonin Scalia, said that "right off the bat," the law should be read to require that a domestic relationship be an element of the predicate offense. Roberts also said that implementing the majority's view will entail "significant problems," requiring prosecutors to research the relationships in past crimes, rather than simply going by the category of the crime.

The case drew interest in part as a test of the strength of the right to bear firearms in the wake of D.C. v. Heller, last year's landmark declaration of an individual right to bear arms. The Second Amendment Foundation filed a brief in the Hayes case, urging the Court to adopt the narrower interpretation and to allow states leeway in defining crimes.

But, as Ohio State University law professor Doug Berman points out on his Sentencing Law and Policy blog, neither Heller nor the Second Amendment played a role in Hayes. "The Second Amendment and Heller do not even get mentioned by the dissenters, even though the majority's ruling would seem to provide a green light to jurisdictions looking for pretty easy ways to functionally work around the rights supposedly championed in Heller."

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence applauded the decision. "In its first gun case since the landmark Heller decision, the Court wisely upheld this reasonable restriction, said center president Paul Helmke. "Today's ruling is the right one for victims of domestic abuse and to protect law enforcement officers who are our first responders to domestic violence incidents."

This article first appeared on The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: TRM
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009
To: Friend
Subject: RE: FYI





And this is news:



http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-administration-revives-assault-weapons-debate-2009-02-26.html


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


From: Friend
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009
To: TRM
Subject: RE: FYI



This further confirms that despite all that blather about Obama being a “centrist,” he remains the same far-left ultraliberal that his voting record shows he’s always been. His honeymoon will, I think, prove very brief as his lack of any true leadership or managerial experience in an executive capacity becomes more and more clear to more and more people. And despite all that hurrahing about the Democrats being in control in Congress, a significant number of them come from the more conservative states and are not going to blindly follow the other lemmings as Obama leads them over the cliff to sure defeat in the next Congressional election, at which point my prognostication is that the economy will still be in the toilet, except that we’ll owe trillions more than we do now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: TRM
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009
To: Friend
Subject: RE: FYI



First, I do not share your total pessimism about the economy (In fact, if I had any money, I would start to invest in the market at this point for long term purposes. As Baron Rothschild is reported to have said, “The time to buy is when blood flows in the streets.”). But this is an area where every “expert”, regardless of philosophy or party affiliation, is only guessing. There are very good reasons why economics is called “the dismal science”.



Second, Nancy Pelosi said that the House will not take up the issue of automatic weapons controls precisely because she does not want to force the more conservative Democrats into a comfort zone with the Republicans, who may be their more natural allies. She knows that would be the beginning of a political disaster.



Third, if Obama does turn out to be swimming outside the political mainstream, then the electorate will have to wait just about 20 months for mid-term elections to let him know what they think.



So cheer up!

Skelator Speaks

Did you catch Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's Republican response to President Obama's address to Congress? Wow! What a disaster. Not only did Jindal look like death warmed over, but he spoke in this weird sing-song kind of voice that made me think he really wanted to replace the late Mr. Rogers in his neighborhood. "Can we say government is bad, boys and girls?" "Who needs to monitor those silly volcanoes that might blow up and kill a couple of people? Not us! We can take our train to fantasy land."

From a political perspective, Jindal's argument left me wondering just where the hell this guy has been living for the past few years? Doesn't he think the federal government is needed to warn people of major dangers, like approaching hurricanes? Or does he think that individual citizens can band together to do that sort of stuff themselves. Oh, wait. They have. It's called a "government". There was just too much evidence last night that Bobby Jindal has quaffed the Nancy Reagan "Just Say No!" Kool-Aid. Hell. even Republicans thought that he was a disaster:



Paul Krugman also was less than impressed by the Louisiana governor-here:

February 25, 2009, 11:08 am
What should government do? A Jindal meditation

What is the appropriate role of government?

Traditionally, the division between conservatives and liberals has been over the role and size of the welfare state: liberals think that the government should play a large role in sanding off the market economy’s rough edges, conservatives believe that time and chance happen to us all, and that’s that.

But both sides, I thought, agreed that the government should provide public goods — goods that are nonrival (they benefit everyone) and nonexcludable (there’s no way to restrict the benefits to people who pay.) The classic examples are things like lighthouses and national defense, but there are many others. For example, knowing when a volcano is likely to erupt can save many lives; but there’s no private incentive to spend money on monitoring, since even people who didn’t contribute to maintaining the monitoring system can still benefit from the warning. So that’s the sort of activity that should be undertaken by government.

So what did Bobby Jindal choose to ridicule in this response to Obama last night? Volcano monitoring, of course.

And leaving aside the chutzpah of casting the failure of his own party’s governance as proof that government can’t work, does he really think that the response to natural disasters like Katrina is best undertaken by uncoordinated private action? Hey, why bother having an army? Let’s just rely on self-defense by armed citizens.

The intellectual incoherence is stunning. Basically, the political philosophy of the GOP right now seems to consist of snickering at stuff that they think sounds funny. The party of ideas has become the party of Beavis and Butthead.

So, Bobby Jindal, go stand in the corner for five years.

Nancy Reagan Republicans

Did you see the President's address to the joint session of Congress? Did you notice that their Republicans were so partisan in their response to his address that they sat on their hands almost every time an applause line came up? So much for President Obama's attempt at bipartisanship and healing the antagonism that has corroded political discourse since Newt Gingrich and his "Contract with America" days (when he also shut down the government because he wasn't asked to sit up front with President Clinton during a ride on Air Force One!.

So here we are at the economic precipice and the Republicans can offer nothing more constructive than their basic " No!" .

"No!" to the stimulus bill.

"No!" to bank bailouts.

"NO!". "NO!" "NO!" They sound like a two year old in the middle of a tantrum. I sort of expect them to threaten to hold their collective breath until they turn blue if they don't get their way.

The Republicans need to be reminded of two facts. First, a Democrat was elected President. Second, the Democrats control both houses of Congress. Being out of power usually means being "the loyal opposition" but Gingrich taught his Republicans that "opposition" is better than "loyal opposition" and his particular brand of acid corroded political discourse for almost two decades.

Maybe the Republicans can't help themselves. To all intents and purposes they have controlled either the presidency or congress or both for more than 20 years. They are exhausted, corrupt, and totally devoid of ideas. They are forced to resort to the old Republican standbys of cutting taxes and small government when clearly some new thinking is called for. Ask the voters for confirmation of that fact.

But the Republicans are totally out of gas and following the lead of Nancy Reagan. All they can do at this point is just say "NO!"

On Becoming an American

A reliable corespondent conveyed the following to me:

I was departing the federal courthouse in Brooklyn this morning and I ran into a smiling, obviously happy, polyglot group; Asians, Latinos, Caucasians, males and females from every continent. I had an idea as to what brought them to the steps of the courthouse, but, nosy person that I am, I sidled up to one man and asked why they were there.

"We have just been sworn in as citizens," replied the middle aged, obviously Latin man. I couldn't resist and I asked, "Oh, and how do you feel?"

With a huge smile he replied,"I feel very proud and I feel safe."

The Warrior Obama

Previously, I wrote about the Obama administration's position regarding prisoners held in Bagram. Obama is prepared to substantially increase American troop strength in Afghanistan with a concomitant draw down in Iraq. Now readthis article, which indicates that Obama might be widening the scope of US Predator attacks and covert operations against Al Qeada and Taliban forces in Pakistan.

Throughout his campaign Obama stated that the war in Iraq took our eye off the prize in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the real center of Al Qeada and its threat to the United States.

Obama seems to be concentrating efforts on the real bad guys now. Will he press the attack? Will he risk Pakistani objections to American incursions into Pakistani territory in order to kill Al Qeada and Taliban? Will he send covert ground forces into Pakistan?

Pakistan is a dangerous enigma. It allows Al Qaeda and the Taliban to take control of the province of Swat. It withdraws its troops from a battle against the militants. Its intelligence agency, ISI, plays all sides simultaneously (and was it involved in the Mumbai terrorist attack?).

How will Obama make his bones as commander in chief in this battle? Will be be a leftist warrior? Obama has some complicated political calculations to consider. He always said he would withdraw from Iraq and his leftist supporters cheered. Will they still cheer his beefed up military effort in Afghanistan/Pakistan or will they turn on him in short order? And if they attack him on his military stance in the subcontinent, will he deplete his political power at home to the extent that his domestic program grinds to a halt?

Just asking.