Jersey City
Gun Powder, Shrapnel and Ball Bearing
Factory

Dreams - Cowkitty, Jolo & I were shopping in Japan when a couple kids smashed the hood of CK's car w/ some bricks. Jolo & I chased them down and found their parents, who didn't want to talk to us, so I did my best to be as loud and obnoxious until the police came. We quickly discovered they had been paid off by some Russian lady. I jumped in her car and Jolo & CK followed us. The Russian chick ran into a light pole as hard as she could and I went through the windshield.

The dream continued automatically from the last save point. I put my seat belt on while a distant Ryo Hazuki said, "Buckle up. It's the law." The driver described all the ways she could kill me, then ran out of the car and into a hotel. I got out and confronted my friends. "This smells like the Russian mob. We could be living the final minutes of our lives. Should we back down?" Jolo & Cowkitty simultaneously asked, "Why so serious?" We walked into the hotel together.


Work was nowhere near as busy as yesterday. I'd've dropped dead if it was.


Warcraft Thursdays - BadToast & I lost 3 in a row, clearly revenge for last night. There's no question our opponents were high level, but in each case, we made stupid mistakes at critical points and paid dearly for it. As penance, please enjoy this replay of Toast riding to my rescue, then soloing 2 HU armies while my army got stuck in creeps.


The Credit CARD Act of 2009 goes into effect on February 22. Please check your credit card statement to make sure your credit card company didn't jack up your interest rate in anticipation. (hattip jerm9x)


Google is teaming up w/ the NSA to investigate the Chinese hack attack.

Google is teaming up with the National Security Agency to investigate the recent hack attack against its network in a bid to prevent another assault, according to The Washington Post.

The internet search giant is working on an agreement with the controversial agency to determine the attacker's methods and what Google can do to shore up its network.

Sources assured the Post that the deal does not mean the NSA will have access to users' searches or e-mail communications and accounts. Nor will Google share proprietary data with the agency.

Kim Zetter

What could possibly go wrong!!


If you're ever curious about what life is like on the other side of the tracks in Pakistan...

The United States has been attacking within Pakistani land with drones for the last four to five years and is also killing innocent people. Our rulers and parliament regard these attacks as attacks on our sovereignty. A minister says that we do protest but the United States does not listen to us. This will mean that if the invader does not listen to you, you should concede and remain silent and should neither retaliate nor defend yourself. There were 44 drone attacks in 2009 alone in which more than 700 innocent people, majority of whom were innocent children, elderly, and women, were killed. According to the statistics provided by various agencies, those who belonged to "Al-Qa`ida" or the Taliban could not be more than 18. Our government kept on expressing fake concern over the killing of hundreds of innocent people and demolition of dozens of localities, and the nation as a whole remained silent. Mian Nawaz Sharif, leader of the opposition, remained so indifferent as though all this was happening not in his own country.

…

Having made sure that the wealth of our national dignity has turned to ashes and the last flame has burned down, the US Administration has now announced a program of naked screening for the passengers coming from a few countries. All these countries are Muslim countries, and Pakistan is one of them. Yes, the same Pakistan, which is the frontline US ally in war against terror. Pakistan has danced to death in others` parties and has made fun of itself. It is the same Pakistan, which left its citizens starving and spent $35 billion in others` war. These inhuman laws have not been made for the passengers of all the countries. These laws are for men and women of every age coming from only a few Muslim countries, including Pakistan. These inhuman and discriminatory laws are synonymous with complete violation of human and religious rights. Are these laws respectful or shameful for the people of the United States, which proudly calls itself a religious state and tells the world 92 percent people there believe in God?

The United States is bent on treating us shamelessly. Moreover, we pay too much regard to anyone coming from the United States. The Blackwater operatives, who committed heinous and inhuman crimes in Iraq, come wherever they please in Pakistan without visa or travel document. They keep on roaming around in vehicles with fake number plates with dangerous weapons. These US officials point guns at the security people if asked to reveal their identity. During a few minutes debate, there is a series of phone calls from the high officials, and they, who consider Pakistan as their playground, are allowed to go with honor.

Hussein Ahmed Paracha

The United States is not welcome in Pakistan and we must leave before they remember they own nuclear weapons... (via)


Belgian counter-terrorists broke into Kleine-Brogel Airbase and got a good look at where the United States stores its NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

If you watch this video on YouTube it is very clear that a group of Belgian peace activists not only got inside the wire at Kleine-Brogel Airbase -- where some US nuclear weapons may be stored -- but they also got into the area where the hardened shelters are located (within the shelters are aircraft and WS3 storage vaults with US B61 nuclear gravity bombs.)

Between the Youtube video, a pair of stories on the Der Standard and Neusblad websites, their Facebook page and website, and Google Earth, it is pretty easy to recreate their path. (Hans K came to the same conclusion.)

…

The "security force" appears to comprise one moderately annoyed-looking Belgian guy with a rifle. (Which RAJ47 observes is unloaded.) The effect would only be more comedic if he had some powdered sugar on his face and maybe a little bit of waffle stuck to his uniform.

Jeffrey Lewis

Will Robert Gates fire more people? Seriously though, the Cold War is over. Why do we need to keep so many nuclear weapons in Europe?


The structure of the Senate makes it impossible to pursue a cap & trade bill atm... But does that mean energy independence is impossible? Leading Democrats think so, but...

"It's the 'kick the can down the road' approach," said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. "It's putting off to another Congress what really needs to be done comprehensively. I don't think you'll ever have energy independence the way I want until you start dealing with carbon pollution and pricing carbon. The two are interconnected."

…

But Graham pledged to fight back against Senate Democratic leaders if they ultimately heeded the moderates' call to just pass the Energy and Natural Resources Committee bill (S. 1462) that establishes a nationwide renewable electricity standard, along with a raft of other energy incentives, including a provision that could bring oil and gas rigs closer to Florida's Gulf Coast.

"If the approach is to try to pass some half-assed energy bill and say that's moving the ball down the road, forget it with me," Graham said, adding that the energy-only proposal does not do enough to promote nuclear power and it ignores revenue sharing for states that agree to offshore oil and gas exploration.

…

While Graham would not name names, he insisted that the closed-door negotiations have actually started winning over lawmakers and interest groups. But he warned that now comes the even harder part of keeping everyone together while still netting more votes.

"We've done things on the energy side, we've got some buy-in from people on the left and the middle that I never dreamed of," he said. "I just hope we don't blow it. And from a Republican point of view, you've got the best chance you'll ever have to get meaningful energy independence. From the Democratic left point of view, you've got the best chance you'll ever have to have carbon pollution controls. Don't let it pass."

Darren Samuelsohn

Let's see how long it takes before Lindsey Graham is blubbering an apology through a torrent of tears. No, wait, he's not a Democrat. Hmm... (via)


WikiLeaks is out of danger, for now...

The whistleblowing site Wikileaks has apparently raised the money it needs to continue operating for the time being, according to a message the organization sent out Wednesday night on Twitter.

"Achieved min. funraising [sic] goal. ($200k/600k); we're back fighting for another year, even if we have to eat rice to do it," read the tweet, without specifying whether it had raised the full $600,000 or just $200,000.

The site announced last December that it was ceasing day-to-day operations to focus on raising money. It said contributors could still send documents and tips through its anonymous submission tool. Last week, it was ceasing operations indefinitely because it had raised only $130,000 of the $200,000 it needed to maintain base operations annually. The site says it requires $600,000 to operate if it pays its staff of technologists and curators who sift through submissions to provide context for documents and other information valuable to its users.

The announcement page, beginning with: "We protect the world -- but will you protect us?" has not changed, except to add that Wikileaks "will be back soon."

Kim Zetter

Thanks to everyone who helped out!