Archive for January, 2008
When I first saw this video I thought maybe they had staged it, but after watching it over again I realized we have some really ignorant people in this country. Where were they when they were supposed to have been in school? I find this incredulous that these people can not answer such simple questions. If you do not find it incredible that they do not know the answers perhaps you need to go back to school and either watch or read the news.
By now I am sure you have heard about the fact that the CIA destroyed video tapes of harsh or potentially illegal interrogation techniques used on terror suspects. Perhaps we are starting the new year off right. On Wednesday, January 2nd, Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed John Durham, a veteran federal prosecutor from Connecticut, to oversee a full criminal investigation that could further challenge the Bush administration’s handling of terrorism suspects and the destruction of videos showing the harsh interrogation of two top al-Qaida suspects – Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.
?? John Durham has a long list of prosecuting corrupt officials including the FBI‘s use of informants which led to FBI agent John Connolly being sent to prison. His work helped take down one of the biggest Mafia busts in U.S. history. Known as a relentless prosecutor, former Attorney General Janet Reno hand-picked Durham to lead the investigation into the FBI’s use of mob informants in Boston. Durham, is known to shown no tolerance for corruption in either party. He sent former Republican Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland and several members of his administration to prison.
For once the Justice Department went out and got someone with integrity and who is independent. No politics here this time. He is said to go by the book so let the chips fall where they may.
“Hamilton Sundstrand, a division of United Technologies, announced this week that it will start to commercialize a new type of solar power plant. A new company called SolarReserve will be created to provide heat-resistant pumps and other equipment, as well as the expertise in handling and storing salt that has been heated to more than 1,050 degrees Fahrenheit. According to venture capitalist Vinod Khosla ‘Three percent of the land area of Morocco could support all of the electricity for Western Europe.’ Molten Salt storage is already used in Nevada’s Solar One power plant. The molten salt is used because it’s pumpable, so that it can quickly gather up a bunch of energy from the reflectors, and just as quickly dump it through conduction when the heat is used to make steam. Water is king, in terms of storing heat, unfortunately it turns to gas at a relatively low temperature. Fortunately, it can be stored under pressure, unfortunately the pressure goes up very much at very high temperatures, which makes containing it more expensive, more dangerous and generally harder to do. Is this the post-hydrocarbon world finally knocking?” I found this video on Nevada‘s Solar One power plant that will give you an idea of how this technology works.
Last week there was an interesting article in the L.A. Times about the cloak-and-daggerism of fighting online scams in Romania, summing it up like this: “The country is the top source of auction site scams. One company is trying to do something about it, with increasing collaboration from local law enforcement over recent years. Ebay has sent over equipment and a team to help the authorities combat this form of cyber crime, which is run with all the organization of an industrial-scale business.”
Danger lurks for Albena Spasova when she arrives in the small industrial center of Ramnicu Valcea, Romania. She is escorted by U.S. Secret Service agents on her trips to the town of Ramnicu Valcea. Her safety is at risk making the agents necessary. They always book her room and always make sure it is next to their room. She has spent weeks sometimes months going over case files with the local police.
If you didn’t know it Ramnicu Valcea would not seem to be the capital of anything. but this obscure town located in the Carpathian Mountains is the global center of an Internet and credit card fraud ring. And Albena Spasova is an accomplished online fraud buster. She has helped take down gangs of fraudsters all across Romania. She isn’t a law enforcement agent for any government but instead works directly for ebay the giant online auction house. Ebay won’t disclose any dollar figures but does admit that Romania is the number one source of professional fraud. Last year there was an Internet fraud ring busted in Chicago that had its roots in Pitesti, Romania. On a November 2006 visit to the Romanian capital, Bucharest, FBI Director Robert Mueller said the vast majority of Internet fraud committed on “one prominent U.S. online auction website is connected to Romania or Romanians.”
Fraud is a big problem for ebay as it has built its reputation on the feedback system to determine if a seller or bidder is reputable or not. The whole system depends upon buyers and sellers trusting one another. If this becomes broke the whole system will be broken. Ebay users are deluged by phishing emails almost daily. Any one of which if mistaken for a real ebay message can give the thiefs all the knowledge they need to hack your account and list things in your good name. You must be ever vigilant and never ever under any circumstances click on a link in an email that claims to be from ebay or paypal either one. These schemes don’t cost ebay anything but could potentially cost you a bundle. They tend to gravitate towards high ticket items like laptops and cars. But not always. Be careful. I have read about an auction winner being told to send the money to Romania via Western Union, A practice that should put up a huge red flag for you. If the auction states they take paypal and then want only Western Union Funds contact ebay immediately. If they want the funds sent to somewhere other than where the users location says you should also be very wary and contact ebay. It is a good idea to have a good password that is very hard to guess. A mixture of letters and numbers is great. Changing it regularly is also a very good idea.
As Publilius Syrus said, “He is most free from danger, who, even when safe, is on his guard”.
While most of us in the U.S. have been celebrating the holidays, officials in the Bush/Cheney Administration have been working behind the scenes to pave the way for the killing of hundreds of wolves in the Greater Yellowstone area.
Over the last several weeks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been quietly moving forward with rule changes that would allow officials in Idaho and Wyoming to begin killing wolves even before gray wolves are removed from the list of federally protected threatened and endangered species.
This latest proposal would allow them to start using airplanes and helicopters to kill hundreds of wolves in Idaho. And it is not just the wolves in Idaho that are threatened but the hundreds of wolves in Wyoming as well. Hundreds of wolves could be shot and trapped under the new rules, whether wolves are removed from the endangered and threatened species list or not. They even have plans to remove the wolves from the Clearwater National Forest in Idaho while they are still on the federally protected status.
A decision on the proposal is expected in the next few weeks. I have not been able to find the Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne email address but you can still contact your representatives in both the House and Senate and urge them to speak out against this travesty. Having spoken to them may help also when if, as expected, the Bush/Cheney Administration eliminates Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies early next year.
As of December 14th, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially approved the State of Wyoming’s wolf management plan, allowing state officials to use aerial gunning and snares to shoot and trap as many as two-thirds of the wolves in the state.
Just last week, Congressman Nick Rahall (D-WV), Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), George Miller (D-CA), Jim Saxton (R-NJ) and Norm Dicks (D-WA) warned in a letter to Secretary Kempthorne that de-listing wolves in the Northern Rockies now is a mistake. In the letter, this bipartisan group of lawmakers cited grave concerns with the state wolf management plans approved by the Bush/Cheney Administration and their potential impact on the future of wolves in the region. Now is the time to speak up. I added links to the above representatives so you can congratulate them for their stance on saving our wildlife. Contact your representatives in the House and Senate. Contact the Whitehouse even. Above all speak out before they destroy our free wolves forever.
Snail Mail:
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240
.
Find your Representative
Find your Senator
Christmas has past and we rang in the new year last night. I hope each and everyone of you had a great time last night and have a happy and prosperous 2008. I know many have to celebrate with spirits and hope those that did don’t feel too rotten today. I know I have over indulged myself on past near years celebrations. But nothing like that for me no more, doctors orders, with my medications it isn’t a good idea to mix with? alcohol. Its supposed to really intensify the effects . One drink feeling like a half a dozen they say. Which might be a good thing if I still wanted to let the world slip by me as I?partied away. Its not the product itself that is bad but the manner in which you use it.
I haven’t sat down and wrote a list of resolutions as I am not that organized anyhow. Perhaps that would make a good one for the top of the list. That and lose a few pounds as I am getting “too big for my britches” as they used to tell me when i was a youngster. I further resolve that I will try to be more helpful to my fellow man. I have tried to live by that rule all my life as we were taught from early on the blessings of sharing and helping others. Things like giving away a free month of hosting on my file-house hosting service. I hope I can keep that up as it is a great feeling helping others. I am a mentor for the DOUA (Disabled Online Users Association) and am very proud to be a member of such a giving group of people.
Check them out if you want to help people who are trying to help themselves as well as others. It is giving a hand up not a hand out.
I do intend to keep this blog up and running giving you a glimpse of the world going on around you through my eyes and their perspective. I look forward to comments, good or bad, or any other critique that you may have. Thanks to all my visitors for reading and visiting my site. May you be blessed in the years to come.