September 19, 2012

I figure if somebody's dumb enough to ask me to go to a political convention and say something,

they're gonna have to take what they get."

- Clint Eastwood



More: http://www.extratv.com/2012/09/17/clint-eastwood-talks-rnc-speech-trouble-with-the-curve-and-dirty-harry/

September 18, 2012

Flamer Malware Spied on Middle East for More Than Five Years

By Robert Lemos
eWeek
September 17, 2012

The Flamer cyber-espionage tool that targeted the Middle East has likely been operational for more than five years and as recently as May 2012, according to an analysis published by security firm Symantec on Sept. 17.

Analyzing records from two command-and-control (C&C) servers discovered by security researchers, Symantec, along with Kaspersky Lab, the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyberthreat (IMPACT) and the German computer emergency response team (CERT-Bund), found that at least 1,000 systems in the Middle East had been controlled by one machine in March, while the other deleted spyware and erased its trail in May.

In addition, data inside the C&C servers indicated that the software could communicate with five different clients, Flamer plus four others, said Vikram Thakur, principal security response manager with Symantec.

It's unclear if those clients are still spying on computers today or are old and outdated, he said. In addition, one of the codes appears to be a placeholder and may not indicate an actual client.

More: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Flamer-Malware-Spied-on-Middle-East-for-More-Than-Five-Years-203712/

September 18, 2012

New bug: The link button stopped working for me

Not bitching about this website. You've done an amazing job with the coding. It's just that the link button didn't work on this post:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021364313

September 18, 2012

Serena Williams, Angela Davis and W. Kamau Bell: This week in Black Awesomeness

Edit: For some reason the links aren't working -and they're really good- so I linked them below number.

By Lauren McEwen
The Washington Post
September13, 2012

New Angela Davis documentary premieres at Toronto Film Festival.



Willow and Jaden Smith joined their parents at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival for the premiere of the new documentary (1) on Angela Davis’s life, “Free Angela and All Political Prisoners,” which is being produced by Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Jay-Z.

The film was directed by Shola Lynch who produced the 2004 documentary, “Chisholm ’72: Unbought & Unbossed (2) ”, about Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s historic 1972 run for president of the United States.

Watch the trailer for “Free Angela and All Political Prisoners” below.

There’s also a great interview with Shola Lynch about the upcoming documentary over at Ebony (3) , where she discusses Angela Davis’s reaction to the film and what she learned while making the film.

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/serena-williams-angela-davis-and-w-kamau-bell-this-week-in-black-awesomeness/2012/09/13/0dcd28ae-fddb-11e1-a31e-804fccb658f9_blog.html

-----

Links:

(1) http://thegrio.com/2012/09/10/new-angela-davis-documentary-brings-life-of-revolutionary-to-big-screen/#s:angela-davis-and-the-smiths

(2) http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0388835/

(3) http://www.ebony.com/entertainment-culture/documentary-revisits-angela-davis-fight-for-freedom-337

September 15, 2012

Oh My God! - Ron Paul Revolution!

I just started a new job with a construction company and just noticed that "Ron Paul Revolution" is stenciled on the back of the company trucks. What do I do if they ask me to drive one at some point?

Signed,

Betwixt in Jersey.

September 14, 2012

In Mali, Al Qaeda now controls an area the size of France

Two Al Qaeda-linked fighters patrol the streets of Gao, northern Mali, on July 16, 2012. (Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images)

By Marc-Andre Boisvert
Global Post
September 10, 2012

BAMAKO, Mali — Just eight months ago, Mali was held up as a model of democracy in Africa. Today, it is practically a failed state with much of the north governed by a consortium of militant groups sympathetic to Al Qaeda.

This new territory has enlarged the global terror organization’s footprint in Africa —which now stretches from Somalia, across to Nigeria, Algeria and now Mali — at a time when it’s influence is waning elsewhere in the world.

The shocking turn of events worries security officials in the United States, which has been chasing Al Qaeda all over Asia, the Middle East and the Gulf for more than a decade.

Mali’s descent from democracy began in March when soldiers, unhappy with the amount of government resources given to them to fight a band of nomadic Tuareg rebels in the north, gave up that fight and instead staged a coup in Bamako, Mali’s capital.

More: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/120907/mali-al-qaeda-ansar-dine-coup

September 14, 2012

Libya Al Qaeda Threat Growing, U.S. Military Officials Say

Source: Huffington Post

By David Wood
Sep 12, 2012

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. warfighting commander who would oversee any U.S. retaliatory strikes for the deaths of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Libya Tuesday recently warned of the growing influence of al Qaeda and related Islamic jihadist groups.

Army Gen. Carter Ham, who heads the U.S. Africa Command and directed the U.S.-led coalition that collapsed the regime of Muammar Gaddafi last year, expressed concern that violent extremist organizations were establishing a presence in post-war Libya.

In the wake of Tuesday's attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, in eastern Libya, and on the American embassy in Cairo, U.S. intelligence officials and senior military officers at AFRICOM and elsewhere were scrambling to identify the attackers and to confirm reports that the attacks were planned and coordinated. Military planners were already well into developing strike options for the White House to consider.

"Make no mistake -- justice will be done," President Obama declared at the White House Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/libya-al-qaeda_n_1878412.html

September 7, 2012

Is this wrong?

Confessio ns of a Feminist Stripper

i've been fascinated by strippers ever since kids started calling me a slut in high school. after reading their lit and watching them gyrate for 10 years, i started a grad program in women's studies, went to a sex worker's conference, and decided to take the plunge for myself. five years later, i have an M.A., and am about to quit dancing. but for now, i write.

More: http://stripperati.blogspot.com/?m=1&zx=a3c6b6d6e889a5bc

September 7, 2012

Debunked: The latest study to demonize foods free of GMO ingredients

September 7, 2012

Debunked: The latest study to demonize foods free of GMO ingredients