1
I still can't decide what is more depressing outcome, that Cameron becomes our next PM, or that he won't be able to beat the current culsterf*ck. It sure sucks to follow UK politics at the moment
Posted by: Andy Janes at Tue Mar 9 18:20:03 2010 (Rf4g3)
Chris Hansen Call Your Office
Via Boing Boing comes this peek at the Olympic mascots...
Among the new events at the Winter Olympics ...RUNNING AWAY!
If you don't understand just by looking at the picture, don't worry. It's because you are a good person. Steven explains the problem in depth here. There, now you can worry.
UPDATE: The originator of the photoshop has been found and he has just been made aware that his work has graced at least two newspapers and has become a template for bootleg merchandise.
What would be a trivial a moderate example of snow in many northern cities has a disproportionate effect on areas that go years with no more than a dusting. Case in point: the cities of the Tidewater area of Virginia where it has been snowing for 18 hours.
Roadway pandemonium.
I'm currently semi-stranded at Worlds Best Comics looking at weather radar website that tells me the snow has passed on....and out he window where my own eyes are telling me that it is still coming down fairly hard. We've got perhaps 6-8 inches here in Newport News but there is a considerable amount of ice on the roads (over an inch) and the snow has alternated with sleet. On the Southside ( the other side of the 'Roads" ) where accumulations of more than an inch are unheard of, they got hit quite a bit harder. I'm watching cars drive sideways down Warwick Blvd. Given that the wind is howling, the bridge-tunnel is iced over and things are notably worse in Portsmouth, I'm just not gonna deal with that.
Jonah Goldberg Sold Me a Pizza
Saturday, I read Goldbergs piece on the new self deprecating Dominoes campaign. Being bored, (and REALLY tired of blackeyed peas) I decided to have one delivered to the comic shop and drove out there to split it with 'The Bob'. Going online to find the number of the Dominoes across the street from the shop I encountered their online ordering system and gave it a whirl.
It's very much improved in quality, though its a bit more expensive as well. Their pizza is now one of the 2 or 3 best offered by any of the chain restaurants. I ought to have blogged about it then but having a laptop with only limited connectivity puts a crimp on ones blogging...and I thought about it and figured I'd look like some sort of geek if I admitted I was getting food advice from National Review.
Well, now I'm behind the curve, 'cause all the cool kids are talking about it now. Also, upon reflection...I AM a geek.
The Spam is Not Just Here
Yes, the comments spam of the last few days from the evil shoe salesman is really annoying, but for some reason my E-mail has been hit with BIRTHER SPAM. Why?
Why do these Mo-Rawns think that spamming people will win someone over to their idiot cause?
Michael Jackson Died for Our Sins
Michael Jackson has died. Obviously you know this already as it is the only thing on TV and it seems is the only news on the planet worth covering. Welcome to day one year one PMJ. Tomorrow there was to be a crucial vote on the controversial cap and trade plan which many feared would wreck our economy. Obviously all issues have been worked out as there is nothing whatsoever to report. Likewise the national health care debate....nothing to report so obviously all issues have been resolved with Jacko's death. The terrifying US deficit, it seems, must have been a
simple clerical error caused by a combination of a Dvorak keyboard and
Excel. Fox and MSNBC are showing Michael Jackson videos....so the unpleasantness in Iran has no doubt been resolved amicably. There is no Piracy off either coast of Africa, in the straits of Malacca or the Caribbean. There is no slavery in the world. The huge plastic island in the north Pacific gyre has obviously disappeared. North Korea has agreed to all of the very strongly worded requests by the UN....which one would think might be news...but then one would obviously be wrong, wouldn't one? No doubt their recent nuclear test was a practical joke involving several tons of Mentos, Diet Coke and some smoke detectors. The Taliban are quiet and AlQuaeda has called off their jihad in remembrance of the King of Pop. All is well thanks to Michael Jackson making the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf.
Or perhaps the gatekeepers of our news are morons.
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I like the comments on Youtube (for once), where one person will say "I loved this show when I was a kid", and then all the Watchmen fans' heads explode.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Thu Mar 12 11:07:32 2009 (PiXy!)
2
I reached my limit when they showed Rorschach with the two dogs. It's nicely done, though, I must say.
Lumberjack Lass Keeps Us From Hitting Bottom....
Of all the stupid stories to have been reported lately, few hit as close to home as this one about certain extreme greens advocacy of...
In related news, one reason Colleen Doran is a professional writer is that while one result of this is that I am without words... she is not. So go and see as she responds to this affront to all that is decent with her rapier like pen...and her chainsaw.
State Department Band Names
The Skeptical Bureaucrat mulls over potential names for any garage bands state department employees might want to start.
The Black Passports Immunity Chargé d'Soul Headbangin' Cookie Pushers The Band Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Attachés of Funk Foreign Policy Fever Rage Against the Démarche Dipnotes N' Roses The Red Hot Vice Consuls CD/DC [that stands for Corps Diplomatique from the District of Columbia] D.C.M. [Diplomatic Corps Musicians] Pea and Gee'd Back-channel Blues Band Constructive Ambiguity Smart Power and the Bilateral Experience The Foggy Bottom Boys [for a Bluegrass group] Reclama!
An Axe to GrindDavid Axe is a freelance journalist who has done some very impressive reporting particularly over the last year. However, he is currently engaged in resurrecting a bizarre mad on of his about the Coast Guard.
I touched on this previously here...read the whole thing, I stand by it..
IF (and that is a really big if) the allegations are true...then those responsible for this " conspiracy" did EXACTLY THE RIGHT THING. The only thing that can come out of this IF the allegation is true is for the USCG to loose the use of a Cutter right before the Alaska fishing season, and possibly, good men and women be punished for doing the right thing.
I don't suggest that there might not be NSC related scandals....but if this is what he's wasting bandwidth on, then the Senior Sea Service must be pretty clean.
UPDATE: At least part of Mr Axes pique seems to stem from the USCG not affording a rebate to bloggers that big papers enjoy. Galrahn responds, thoughtfully as usual, and has thoughts on the CG and web 2.0 here.
UPDATE 2: While responding to Mr. Stinson's comment, I rather belatedly realized that I never posted the Coast Guards denial of the whole thing.
In fact, at no time did the Coast Guard remove or re-install equipment
to mislead Navy examiners. The Coast Guard has regularly and
frequently discussed in detail with congressional oversight staffs the
many actual activities associated with preparation and follow-on work
for acceptance trials and delivery.
(Brickmuppet...'FLOG')
sorry...
This excerpt is important as it might explain why some investigators Freedom of Information Requests are being denied....
Specifically, the Coast Guard presented Congressional staff with
information that directly counters the false assertions and
unsubstantiated claims regarding this matter. Because of the sensitive
nature of the information provided to Committee staff, the Coast Guard
cannot publicly disclose those documents, because that would disclose
equipment capabilities.
The C4SIR system is classified and so there is likely some lack of forthrightness in its discussion....which is perfectly proper.
The point of these two posts is not to dispute the Coast Guards version of things but to make the case that even if Mr Axe's anonymous tipster is accurate....the "scandal" being pursued here is not an ethical failure.
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Great post, albeit that I don't agree with every word. Indeed, Mr. Axe does have one to grind, I guess. His grinding takes away from the core issue, however, and that is the sense there is a hide and seek playing out here.
In your May post, you wrote, "The priority now is to learn what went
wrong, apply those lessons, see that this doesn't happen again and get
the ship and her sister operational." Indeed, this is the reason I have made the FOIA request. Hard to learn from something if you're not acknowledging the situation. I don't think anyone ought to be tossed overboard (we're beyond that), but hanky-panky doesn't play when it comes to large acquisitions. Do note that the allegations have not been rebutted, at all. Admiral Blore, when given the chance to put a stick in it and put it to bed (how's that for mixing metaphors) did not. The allegations remain "out there." The silence, at least from where I sit, is deafening.
Meanwhile, rather than throwing a hissy fit, I've written an appeal and will let the process carry on. Having been down a similar path before, I know how long these things take to play out.
As to how this would impact the cutter fleet: if it is true, it will do nothing to the fleet except remind all involved that we must be above board in all we do. Plain and simple.
Keep posting; I like your style.
Posted by: Peter Stinson at Tue Sep 23 23:35:24 2008 (isuRB)
My big fear is that, after all the actual impropriety in this mess, that IF the story is true (and it has been categorically denied) the people who end up getting made an example of are made an example of for the appearance of impropriety...because they exercised good judgment made the best of a bad situation.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Wed Sep 24 12:08:10 2008 (SazwJ)
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The C4ISR equipment removal issue is not resolved by the repetitive CG comments that the "Coast Guard" didn't remove the equipment. They have never stated that the equipment was not removed by someone. (This whole thing was caused by my naming the CG specifically in my allegation. I should have made it more general. It's really splitting hairs - but technically an important distinction) The Transportation Committee documented C4ISR equipment removal. What they didn't state is what it was , why it was removed, by whom and how it affected TEMPEST testing. As for the comment that this is all classified so it shouldn't be discussed that is incorrect. the results of TEMPEST testing as in pass/fail etc is not classified - nor are the associated open issues. The technical specifics like frequencies, bandwidths etc is the classified part.
As for why this is important. The NSC has the mother load of C4ISR equipment. They have all the classified systems especially communications. In order for them to play with others well - especially the US Navy - they would need secure voice and data comm systems. The primary data exchange for comms is SIPRNET - the classified government WIDE internet. If it is compromised (like it probably was in Cuban waters by the Matagorda) then our enemies can clearly understand all of the communications by everyone using it. And if our enemies copy the clear and encrypted data they can break our codes.
Every one of my allegations has been proven accurate. (If you would like to challenge that please let me know) My sources tell me the NSCs IA and TEMPEST are in extremely bad shape and will require a major ship redesign to fix. This will cost hundreds of millions of $. The cost goes up as we leverage the system of systems design across all the NSCs, OPCs and FRCs.
Usually the TEMPEST tests are run end to end at least once prior to DD-250 signing so the open items can be understood. Supposedly that was never done on the Bertholf (I think the equipment "removal" gave them cover to avoid running those tests). However testing had been done on sub-systems for the whole year or so prior and over 100 items were still open. The Navy called out 350+ critical design flaws in the winter of 2007. Of course open items are to be expected and it's usual for work to get done after DD-250 signing. What is not usual is taking delivery of a $600m ship whose secure systems have never been tested end to end. (As I say that I see the 1st LCS may have done the same thing. Funny - who built her C4ISR?)
Not only were the tests not run before acceptance but the CG is now late on their commitment to have them done in August.
The objective and subjective data all point toward the CG and ICGS hiding a major flaw. If you would like to contact me I can lay it all out. (Any group of senior officials who would cover up an illegal waiving of critical comm security failures the Navy suggested not be waived can do pretty much anything to keep the cover up going to protect themselves. The facts - Ron Porter - an acting and not cleared CTTA signed off on waiving TEMPEST failures the Navy didn't want fixed. That act was sanctioned all the way up the chain. Additionally - this is the same group of people who were going to outfit every 123, NSC, OPC and FRC with external C4ISR equipment that would not survive the elements - among other things. They accepted the first 8 123 like this which meant the designs would continue - due to system of systems - on every other surface asset. The only reason this did not continue is because the problems were exposed to the public)
Posted by: Michael DeKort at Wed Sep 24 17:57:20 2008 (JZXvZ)
4For those who do not know, Mr. DeKort raised numerous questions about the quality of work being done on the refitting/stretching of several 110 foot patrol boats into123' patrol boats. He was told to not pursue the matter.
When he did he was terminated by his employer.
His allegations proved to be correct. He has since been treated rather roughly for his trouble.
Sir, I do not dispute that you are operating in good faith.
However, the fact remains that IF the Coast Guard did the swap that you allege, then it was still the correct thing to do. The vessel is serviceable and a useful asset even if the secure coms aren't working. The ship can be fitted with portable secure radios from the Army or Marine Corps. This will not have the full spectrum of capabilities of the system as designed but it will be sufficient for most needs. The vessel is needed now, in time for winter in the Bering Sea.
Your own information alleges that the C4ISR system is so poorly installed that it will require near total replacement and considerable yard time. IF your info is correct and the vessel was held up until the systems in question were fully operational then the ship would almost certainly not be ready in time, particularly given the issues with the C4ISR contractor.
Publicly available news reports have pointed to the maintenance issues with the other high endurance cutters such as the recent engine room fires on Dallas.
This drives home the fact that this vessel (Bertholf) is needed and its absence could concievably cost lives.
IFevery one of the allegations you make above were correct...then the choice the Coast Guard had was between not waiving a test that they knew they would fail and would due to statutory requirements delay the in service date...thereby risking lives. Or waiving the test and potentially saving lives.
Ethically, by pretty much any standard, the Coast Guard (allegedly) made the right choice.
This assumes their categorical denial is false.
Quality control in that shipyard is a major issue as the Navy has learned to its dismay with the San Antonio class LPDs and as you point out the C4SIR system contractor is even worse. This C4SIR issue is not a CG only problem, it is Navy too and possibly involves other services and agencies...because it involves secure communications it is highly probable that much revolving around this is quite sensitive, as is its scope, as are efforts to correct it.
It is possible that we may be talking past each other. You are alleging major failures. Mr Axe is saying that the attempts by the USCG to cope with the results of those failures in as ethical and productive way as possible is the real scandal. I am saying that IF this is all true then Mr Axe is simply wrong. What's more, focusing on THIS aspect of the alleged scandal distracts from anyone who may have been responsible for it, and potentially ruin he carreers of those who (allegedly) had to deal with its consequences.
That is the crux of my disagreement with you and Mr. Stinson on this matter.
Thank you for your comment, and the considerable sacrifices you have made for your country.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Thu Sep 25 02:24:32 2008 (73lWn)
Hobby Space News of the commercial space industry A Babe In The Universe Rather Eclectic Cosmology Paleo Future Visions of futures past Encyclopedia Astronautica Superb spacecraft resource The Unwanted Blog Scott Lowther blogs about forgotten aerospace projects...and cats Transterrestrial Musings Commentary on Infinity...and beyond! Colony WorldsSpace colonization news! The Alternate Energy Blog It's a blog about alternate energy (DUH!) Next Big Future Brian Wang: Tracking our progress to the future Nuclear Green Charles Barton, who seems to be either a cool curmudgeon, or a rational hippy, talks about energy policy and the terrible environmental consequences of not going nuclear Depleted Cranium The Mysterious Dr. Buzzo blogs about "SCIENCE!!" Energy From Thorium Focuses on the merits of thorium cycle nuclear reactors WizBang Current events commentary...with a wiz and a bang The Gates of Vienna Tenaciously studying a very old war The Anchoress insightful blogging, presumably from the catacombs Murdoc Online"Howling Mad Murdoc" has a millblog...golly! Airborne Combat EngineerAce posts about international, national, community, family, and personal security EaglespeakMaritime security matters Information Dissemination An exceedingly good blog on naval theory. Commander Salamander Fullbore blackshoe blogging! The Volokh Conspiracy The Super Informative Legal Blog With the Delightfully Sinister Name Belmont Club Richard Fernandez blogs on current events BaldilocksUnderstated and interesting blog on current events Villanous Company The online snarkpit of a Marine Corps wife "Cassandra" The Dissident Frogman French bi-lingual current events blog University Blog Aakash Raut blogs on college issues, Iowa politics and current events. The "Moderate" VoiceI don't think that word means what they think it does....but this leftie blog is a worthy read nonetheless. Meryl Yourish News, Jews and Meryls' Views Classical Values Eric Scheie blogs about the culture war and its incompatibility with our republic. The Ministry of Minor Perfidy Six completely incompatible personalities in a group blog...together...ummm...they fight crime! (or something) Jerry Pournell: Chaos ManorOne of Science fictions greats blogs on futurism, current events, technology and wisdom A Distant Soil The website of Colleen Dorans' superb fantasy comic, includes a blog focused on the comic industry, creator issues and human rights. John C. Wright The Sci-Fi/ Fantasy writer muses on a wide range of topics.
Now Read This! The founder of the UK Comics Creators Guild blogs on comics past and present. The Rambling Rebuilder Charity, relief work, roleplaying games Rats NestThe Art and rantings of Vince Riley Gorilla Daze Allan Harvey, UK based cartoonist and comics historian has a comicophillic blog! Pulpjunkie Tim Driscoll reviews old movies, silents and talkies, classics and clunkers. Suburban Banshee Just like a suburban Leprechaun....but more dangerous and much cuter Satharn's Musings Through TimeThe Crazy Catlady of The Barony of Tir Ysgithr Incomplete Me Faith Howell uses camera and keyboard to record her adventures teaching English in Korea アニ・ノート(Ani-Nouto) Thoughtful, curmudgeonly, otakuism that pulls no punches and suffers no fools. Anime@ the Astronimicon Substituting "Astro" for "Necro" minimizes san loss Chizumatic Stephen Den Beste analyzes anime...with a microscope, a slide rule and a tricorder. Wonderduck Anime, Formula One Racing, Sad Girls in Snow...Duck Triumphalism Beta Waffle What will likely be the most thoroughly tested waffle evah! The Kawaii Menace! Don keeps tabs on anime of a cuter sort. Mahou Meido MeganekkoUbu blogs on Anime, computer games and other non-vital interests Twentysided More geekery than you can shake a stick at The Truth Laid Bear Managing the ecosystem of blogosphere..and other worthy endeavors Ambient IronyAll Meenuvians Praise the lathe of the maker! Hail Pixy!!
