kaeenkfb on Mancouch

Contrary Brin: Four Reflections On Patriotism

Are we really 232 years old? Already? Why, it seems only yesterday...

Reflecting on the meaning of July Fourth, I joined millions wondering how we found ourselves in national crisis. Only a decade ago, it seemed that America was at a pinnacle and still rising. Aside from a few grumbles in Moscow, Beijing and Paris, the world seemed happy to accept a “unipolar” world, led (gently) by a consensus-seeking but also overwhelmingly powerful Pax Americana. Our alliances and popularity (the underpinnings of real international strength) were unsurpassed. Our technology, economy, finances and science, appeared unparalleled.

Even from a conservative perspective, it took real contortions to find things to get vexed about, during the 1990s. (Though that did not keep the lurid, livid rationalizations from flowing).

Military readiness was at an all-time high. (Every US Army brigade was prepared to defend us... vs. none (zero) today.) The economy boomed, small business startups surged as never before, deficits turned into surpluses, crime plummeted along with teen pregnancy rates, secrecy declined and the government’s share of GDP dropped, for the first time since the Great Depression. Note that all of the examples that I chose should appeal to conservatives -- that is, those who aren't hypocrites.

Moreover, after a century in which our triumphs - over fascism, communism, racism, outer space and our own inner devils - seemed so vast compared to our (also extravagant) mistakes, it seemed that America held a high and near permanent status on the world's moral high ground. If patriotism is more than just a reflexive rush of righteous hormones, chanting worshipfully at your tribal totem, then it flourishes best when your country is truly different. When it stands for something new and powerful for good.

How things change in a few short years. Our status as unquestioned leader of a unipolar world is shriveled to the point of ridicule. Our strengths have been spent and frittered. Worst of all, here in Phase Three of the U.S. Civil War, there now appear to be two Americas and one of them wallows in deep denial that their beloved cause has wrought all this terrible harm. The “red” half nods, entranced, as Sean Hannity stakes his outrageous personal claim as ultimate arbiter of patriotism - by waving the flag harder and louder than anybody else - while he continues aiding and abetting those who have betrayed the republic far more than Benedict Arnold ever did.

Alas.

Fortunately, there are better voices, urging a more mature version of patriotism. Columnist Robert Scheer offers the following excerpt from Washington's "Farewell Address" - a declaration of our first president’s high expectations for a republic of free men:

"In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself, that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism. ..."

(Scheer goes on to offer much wisdom... but lamentably falls for the most common, Michael Moore delusion of the left, that our invasion of Iraq was about “getting Iraqi oil.” This flies in the face of blatant facts, e.g. that only NOW, after five years, is that oil starting to flow (and yes, corruptly to some US oilco interests.) Indeed, one can argue that keeping Iraqi oil OFF of world markets may have been a core objective, all along.

(Looking at actual effects of the Iraq Imbroglio, one sees a better case for the use of “emergency” overrides so that multi-billion dollar, no-bid crony contracts could be handed over to Bush friends for “war zone services” by Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater, etc, making the old Military Industrial Complex (Boeing etc) look like absolute angels, by comparison. One could get even more paranoid by tallying the actual results of this insane adventure - all converging upon the demolition of Pax Americana, the one thing the neocons claimed to be fighting for! Why do even opponents of the Bushite Cabal reflexively refuse to consider the parsimonious explanation? That results, so relentlessly and consistently achieved, might have been the aim, all along?)

Of even greater resonance and importance, at this point, is Barack Obama’s speech about this matter, on June 30.

It is a deeply articulate, passionate and yet intelligently nuanced essay that we all ought to read, even opponents, so that we can get some of the measure of this man.

This line was special: "For a young man of mixed race, without firm anchor in any particular community, without even a father's steadying hand, it is this essential American idea – that we are not constrained by the accident of birth but can make of our lives what we will – that has defined my life, just as it has defined the life of so many other Americans."

Oh, and later on, amid many fine insights, he speaks for those of us who remember the future, when he calls for rediscovering our role as a scientific nation. It is the first time I have heard any candidate in this election cycle refer to science unsolicited. (Along these lines, see “Questions For the Candidates About Science and America’s Future.”)

Do read it all the way through. I still have many questions about him. But this is an unusual fellow.

-----
Obama and States Rights.

I’ve made a habit of offering jiu jitsu moves that Barack Obama and the democrats might use to shatter the standard, partisan strawmen that Fox-Rove&co have used, to foment Culture War. (And some of my suggestions would do good, even if they were used, effectively, by John McCain!) The “Stipulation Gambit” -- and a vow to Honor the Losers -- would surprise and woo many fence-sitters, while transforming American politics forever.

Obama has already shown a level of agility that bodes well Now another suggestion -- that he should embrace States Rights as an important modern cause. Dave Rickey wrote in to say: “We all know that only Nixon could go to China’. So if Obama stood up and made an honest appeal for "State's Rights," against the wave of federal power-usurpation by the Cheney Cabal, it would have special resonance.”

With jiu jitsu in mind, think about States Rights. The term carries an old-timey feel of connection to Dixiecrats fighting for Jim Crow, so nobody uses it anymore. But that makes the term available, to be snatched up by a new and agile leader! Imagine how it would rock back those who assume one pattern “typical” of liberalism, for the liberal standard bearer to demand a good version of states rights... one that will allow innovative regions like California to pursue paths toward energy independence, environmentalism, health reform, and so on, without being bludgeoned by a heavy-handed presidency. Could anything better show Obama’s contrast vs a power-mad imperial Bush Cabal, that has betrayed everything decent conservatism ought to stand for?

Obama did something similar when he said he would seek a reform of the U.S. tax code if elected in November, saying the current tax system is a "10,000-page monstrosity." But that promise lacks power simply because it has been made so many times before. (In fact though, I have a simple way that the tax code could be trimmed by 70% without much political pain or obstructionism! It is a method that is mostly politically neutral, gores very few sacred cows, is cheap and easy to implement, and is almost guaranteed to work! Yet, to the best of my knowledge it has never been tried, or even proposed! Alas.)

---

Final Note: osama bin laden: mission accomplished?

''[Osama bin Laden] said at one point that he wants oil to be $144 a barrel'' -- about six times what it sells for now." Roger Diwan, a managing director, Petroleum Finance Company, New York Times October 14, 2001

Ten years ago, back in the awful Clinton years, the price of a barrel of oil was just $11. Heading into this holiday weekend, the price of a barrel of oil rested at $144 — a thirteen-fold increase.

vulnerabilities found in microsoft access and hp laptop software

US-CERT is warning the weaknesses may allow an attacker to execute remote code without additional user interaction.

By Thomas Claburn InformationWeek December 12, 2007 01:50 PM

The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) this week issued two warnings about public exploit code.

On Monday, the government security group said that there's a stack buffer overflow vulnerability in the way that Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Access handles Microsoft Access Database (.MDB) files. Opening maliciously-crafted .MDB files may allow an attacker to execute remote code without additional user interaction, the group said.

US-CERT did not provide details beyond stating that the vulnerability was being actively exploited. A proof-of-concept exploit has been available since November 16.

Microsoft considers .MDB files to be unsafe, along with many other file types. "Microsoft customers should be aware that opening unsafe types of files could cause malicious damage to computer systems," the company states in its support documentation. "These files could contain viruses or Trojan horse programs and could be used to alter or to delete information that is stored on the computer. These files could also be used to send information that is stored on a computer to other computers. We recommend that customers only open these types of files after customers verify that the sender is trustworthy and that the sender intentionally sent the file."

Some of the files types Microsoft classifies as unsafe are: program files (*.exe), batch files (*.cmd and *.bat), script files (*.vbs and *.js), Microsoft Access files (*.mdb) and macros in Microsoft Word files (*.doc) or in Microsoft Excel files (*.xls). The Microsoft Access stack buffer overflow vulnerability was not among those Microsoft fixed on December 11 in its monthly security patch bulletin.

On Wednesday, US-CERT said it was also aware of reports of a possible vulnerability in the HP (NYSE: HP) Info Center Software found on HP Laptops. The group said that the flaw could allow an attacker to execute remote code on the affected laptop or alter the laptop's system registry.
A proof-of-concept exploit for the HP software flaw was posted on Tuesday.

Who's Watching Us?: AND NOW THE MANCHURIAN MICROCHIP

The geniuses at Homeland Security who brought you hare-brained procedures at airports (which inconvenience travelers without snagging terrorists) have decreed that October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

This means The Investigator — at the risk of compromising national insecurities — would be remiss not to make you aware of the hottest topic in U.S. counterintelligence circles: rogue microchips. This threat emanates from China (PRC) — and it is hugely significant.

The myth: Chinese intelligence services have concealed a microchip in every computer everywhere, programmed to “call home” if and when activated.

The reality: It may actually be true.

All computers on the market today — be they Dell, Toshiba, Sony, Apple or especially IBM — are assembled with components manufactured inside the PRC. Each component produced by the Chinese, according to a reliable source within the intelligence community, is secretly equipped with a hidden microchip that can be activated any time by China’s military intelligence services, the PLA.

“It is there, deep inside your computer, if they decide to call it up,” the security chief of a multinational corporation told The Investigator. “It is capable of providing Chinese intelligence with everything stored on your system — on everyone’s system — from e- mail to documents. I call it Call Home Technology. It doesn’t mean to say they’re sucking data from everyone’s computer today, it means the Chinese think ahead — and they now have the potential to do it when it suits their purposes.”

Discussed theoretically in high-tech security circles as “Trojan Horse on a Chip” or “The Manchurian Chip,” Call Home Technology came to light after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched a security program in December 2007 called Trust in Integrated Circuits. DARPA awarded almost $25 million in contracts to six companies and university research labs to test foreign-made microchips for hardware Trojans, back doors and kill switches — techie-speak for bugs and gremlins — with a view toward microchip verification.

Raytheon, a defense contractor, was granted almost half of these funds for hardware and software testing.

Its findings, which are classified, have apparently sent shockwaves through the counterintelligence community.

“It is the hottest topic concerning the FBI and the Pentagon,” a retired intelligence official told The Investigator. “They don’t know quite what to do about it. The Chinese have even been able to hack into the computer system that handles our Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system.”

Another senior intelligence source told The Investigator, “Our military is aware of this and has had to take some protective measures. The problem includes defective chips that don’t reach military specs — as well as probable Trojans.”

A little context: In 2005 the Lenovo Group in China paid $1.75 billion for IBM’s PC unit, even though that unit had lost $965 million the previous four years. Three congressmen, including the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, tried to block this sale because of national security concerns, to no avail. (The PRC embassy in Washington, D.C., maintains a large lobbying presence to influence congressmen and their staffs through direct contact.)

In June 2007, a Pentagon computer network utilized by the U.S. defense secretary’s office was hacked into — and traced directly back to the Chinese PLA.

A report presented to Congress late last year characterized PRC espionage as “the single greatest risk to the security of American technologies.” Almost simultaneously, Jonathan Evans, director- general of MI5, Britain’s domestic security and counterintelligence service, sent a confidential letter to CEOs and security chiefs at 300 UK companies to warn that they were under attack by “Chinese state organizations” whose purpose, said Mr. Evans, was to defeat their computer security systems and steal confidential commercial information.

The Chinese had specifically targeted Rolls-Royce and Shell Oil.

The key to unlocking computer secrets through rogue microchips is uncovering (or stealing) source codes, without which such microchips would be useless. This is why Chinese espionage is so heavily focused upon the U.S. computer industry.

Four main computer operating systems exist. Two of them, Unix and Linux, utilize open-source codes. Apple’s operating system is Unix- based.

Which leaves only Microsoft as the source code worth cracking. But in early 2004, Microsoft announced that its security had been breached and that its source code was “lost or stolen.”

“As technology evolves, each new program has a new source code,” a computer forensics expert told The Investigator. “So the Chinese would need ongoing access to new Microsoft source codes for maintaining their ability to activate any microchips they may have installed, along with the expertise to utilize new hardware technology.”

No surprise then that the FBI expends much of its counterintelligence resources these days on Chinese high-tech espionage within the United States. Timothy Bereznay, while still serving as assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, told USA Today, “Foreign collectors don’t wait until something is classified — they’re targeting it at the research and development stage.” Mr. Bereznay now heads Raytheon’s Intelligence and Information Systems division.

The PRC’s intelligence services use tourists, exchange students and trade show attendees to gather strategic data, mostly from open sources. They have also created over 3,500 front companies in the United States — including several based in Palo Alto to focus on computer technology.

Back in 2005, when the Chinese espionage problem was thought to be focused on military technology, then-FBI counterintelligence operations chief Dave Szady said, “I think the problem is huge, and it’s something we’re just getting our arms around.” Little did he know just how huge, as it currently applies to computer network security.

The FBI is reported to have arrested more than 25 Chinese nationals and Chinese-Americans on suspicion of conspiracy to commit espionage between 2004 and 2006. The Investigator endeavored to update this figure, but was told by FBI spokesman William Carter, “We do not track cases by ethnicity.”

Excuse us for asking. We may be losing secrets, but at least the dignity of our political correctness remains intact.

Oh, and Homeland Security snagged comic icon Jerry Lewis, 82, trying to board a plane in Las Vegas with a gun — no joke.

Robert Eringer worked as a spy for the FBI for 10 years beginning in 1993. Robert was responsible for bringing American CIA Traitor Edward Lee Howard to capture which he wrote about in his book, Ruse. Robert now writes for the Santa Barbara News-Press where the article above was first featured on the Manchurian Microchip.

[Daily Artisan.com]

New World Sensibility: Proposed Topics

One of our commenters would like to discuss these topics. Anyone want to get started?

1. Personal responsibility for health. Many of the "costly" dollars that are spent are on fixing problems that people can likely avoid in the first place like type II diabetes, skin cancer, smoking related illnesses etc. If you smoke - should taxpayers have to pay for that? And, what about good old fashioned healthy, portion controlled diet and moderate exercise, sunscreen, and NOT smoking. Those are pretty cheap ways to avoid illness. Now, there are some problems that cannot be avoided, childhood cancer, genetic abnormalities, falling off the jungle gym and breaking ones arm. I am glad to pay taxes to help out with all that stuff. That is part of being human.

2. Can someone make some educated suggestions on how the average American can educate him or herself on health care? You suggest that we are uneducated...how about a suggestion for improvement?

3. What the heck is in the healthcare bill that everyone is talking about? How can we discuss something we haven't been allowed to review for ourselves???

You have the floor...

IT Support Engineer: How to use Memory Pool Monitor (Poolmon.exe ...

Poolmon displays data that the operating system collects about memory allocations from the system paged and nonpaged kernel pools and about the memory pools used for Terminal Services sessions. The data is grouped by pool allocation tag. This information can be used by Microsoft Technical Support to find kernel mode memory leaks.

A memory leak is caused by an application or by a process that allocates memory for use but that does not free the memory when the application or process finishes. Therefore, available memory is completely used over time. Frequently, this condition causes the system to stop functioning correctly.

In this case, the following events may be logged in the System log:

Event ID: 2020
Source: Srv
Description: The server was unable to allocate from the system paged pool because the pool was empty.

Event ID: 2019
Source: Srv
Description: The server was unable to allocate from the system nonpaged pool because the pool was empty.

The first section that follows describes how to enable tag mode for using Poolmon. The second section describes how to gather the information for troubleshooting by using Poolmon.
Back to the top
Enabling Tag Mode
Before running PoolMon, you must enable pool tagging and then restart your computer. The pool tagging feature collects and calculates statistics about pool memory sorted by the tag value of the memory allocation.

Note It is not necessary to enable pool tagging in Windows Server 2003 as it is enabled by default.

To enable pool tagging on a Windows NT 4.0-based, Windows 2000-based, or Windows XP-based computer, use one of the following methods:
Method 1: Edit the Registry
To change the registry value that enables tag mode for Poolmon.exe, follow these steps.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

1. Run Registry Editor.
2. Locate the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager
3. Write down the value of GlobalFlag, or save the Session Manager key.
4. Double-click the GlobalFlag value in the right pane.
5. Change the value to 0x00000400 hexadecimal.

Note When you add the global flag value 0x00000400, it only shows up as being 0x400 after it is added. It is important to add all of the leading zeros or some of the Poolmon information will not display on the output screen.
6. Restart the computer.

Note When you are finished debugging, change the GlobalFlag value back to the original value that you were instructed to write down in step 3.
Method 2: Use the Gflags.exe Utility
You can also use the Global Flags Editor (Gflags.exe) utility to enable pool tagging. Gflags.exe is available in the Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit and in the \Support\Tools folder of Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 CD-ROMs.

Note Because pool tagging is permanently enabled in Windows Server 2003, the Enable Pool Tagging check box in the Global Flags dialog box is dimmed and commands to enable or disable pool tagging fail.

To make the change by using Gflags.exe, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type gflags.exe, and then click OK.
2. Select Enable Pool Tagging.
3. Click Apply, and then click OK.
4. Restart the computer.

Note When you are finished debugging, repeat the above steps to disable pool tagging.
Back to the top
Using Poolmon to Collect Information
PoolMon displays pool tag information within a command window. Use the arrow keys or the PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys to display all the tag information returned by the tool.

Poolmon.exe is available in the Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit and in the \Support\Tools folder of Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 CD-ROMs.

Use the following steps to copy and store the tag information. Repeat these steps for two hours at 15 minute intervals. Append each update to the end of the Notepad file.

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Console.

Note For Windows 2000 you must perform the following steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. Right-click the title bar, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Options tab, click QuickEdit Mode, and then click Insert Mode.
3. Click the Layout tab, change the Screen Buffer Size value to 99, and then click OK.
4. Click Start, point to Programs, and then click Command Prompt.
5. Locate Poolmon.exe in the Support\Debug\platform folder on the Windows NT 4.0 CD. Change to the drive and folder where Poolmon.exe is located. On the Windows 2000 CD Poolmon.exe is in the Support.CAB file. Support.CAB is located under the \Support\Tools folder.
6. Type Poolmon.exe.
7. Press P until Poolmon displays the second column "type" and shows the value paged.
8. Press B to sort the columns from largest to smallest.
9. Select the whole screen contents, and then press ENTER.
10. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Notepad.
11. On the Edit menu, click Paste.
12. Repeat step 7 to look for the value nonpaged.
13. Repeat steps 8 - 11 to paste.

Poolmon.exe also has a few command keys that sort the output for you. Press the letter indicated below to perform the operation. It takes a few seconds for each command to work. Here is a list of a few of the commands:
P - Sorts tag list by Paged, Non-Paged, or mixed. Note that P cycles through each one.
B - Sorts tags by max byte usage.
M - Sorts tags by max byte allocation.
T - Sort tags alphabetically by tag name.
E - Display Paged, Non-paged total across bottom. Cycles through.
A - Sorts tags by allocation size.
F - Sorts tags by "frees".
S - Sorts tags by the differences of allocs and frees.
E - Display Paged, Non-paged total across bottom. Cycles through.
Q - Quit.

kaeenkfb

albums

profile

Thursday, 27 August 2009

Contrary Brin: Four Reflections On Patriotism

vulnerabilities found in microsoft access and hp laptop software

Who's Watching Us?: AND NOW THE MANCHURIAN MICROCHIP

New World Sensibility: Proposed Topics

IT Support Engineer: How to use Memory Pool Monitor (Poolmon.exe ...

kaeenkfb

Subscribe

Subscribe to kaeenkfb

Send a message

Post to chatboard

Archives

Recommended

Subscriptions

Groups