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Good article. I was "forced" into learning more about firewalls and security shortly after I started to use Linux. RH 7.2, IIRC. Was on a dilup, and some script kiddies found my IP address and were able to crash my system. About 2 weeks later I discovered the logs. My reaction was "Holy Cow!!!!, I better learn about this."

Anyway, my simple point being that security issues are not limited to MS. Now I sit behind a SOHO firewall (cable router). I'm impressed by the small footprint it shows the outside world. I think the "education" solution won't work. The concepts are tough enough, and implementation is even more difficult. Instead, I would suggest that widepread use of hardware firewalls will effectively reduce the rate of system compromize. I have to concede that dialup users have the chore of being more software savy.

Good to read that Bremer had some words about this. Mr. Kerr's article is so full of distortions, I didn't bother to research or clarify the EO in question.

One sad thing is that the sort of tripe spewed by Mr. Kerr is taken as representing truth and reality, bu a significant fraction of the population. Even when the facts are laid out, some poeple prefer being angry over being informed. I suppose that is part of the reason why Dean is doing so well with his candidacy.

Author's opinions only. ZNet is an "interesting" site for liberal commentary.

The article appeared in the Cyberia maillist (which is suppoed to address legal issues related to the internet, so this article was off topic), and I found it so outrageous, I just had to share the pain.

let's see how the Pubs handle Pickering and Brown...

My guess is, "With deference to the collegial nature of the Senate." That is, the same way other contentious nominees have been handled.

As far as I know, the GOP hasn't pushed its proposed change in rules regarding the handling of judicial appointments. As long as one DEM Senator is willing to object to the nomination, and at least 41 DEM Senators vote against cloture, the nominee will not be approved. Period.

So now that he has commited a 'gun' crime, does that mean he can't own any more guns?

In newspaper parlance, he allegedly commited criminal acts. The right to own firearms is altered ONLY upon a felony conviction.

The Chief will not even be charged with a felony. The laws are not uniformly applied.

There should be no reason to have a CCW license for a piece of baggage. It's the same as mailing something at Federal Express.

There isn't [a need for CCW in order to check firearms as baggage]. The chief broke more than one law.

He broke the federal law that requires all firearms to be unloaded and declared, before being submitted for shipment in checked baggage.

He also broke the Michigan state law that requires handguns to be registered. (I think that law is still on the books). Again, this is not a registration of a person for carrying a concealead weapon, this is registration of the weapon to an owner, without the "right" to carry concealed. I'm not sure what triggers the obligation to register handguns to the Michigan authorities. Maybe Dan from MIchigan can summarize those requirements.

It's not even CCW. When I bought handguns as a MI resident, I had to have a permit in order to purchase the weapon. CCW was another matter entirely, above and beyond the permitting process for purchase. It sounds as though this gun was not even permitted for purchase (if it was purchased by the Chief while he was a MI resident). My purchases were circa early 1980's.

After purchase, I had to submit the gun and myself to the local sherrif. The gun was inspected, and I was thumbprinted. Again, this is NOT for CCW, it is just for purchase.

You can bet you bottom dollar there is a double standard for prosecution. The Chief will get off easy, compared with what the "mere civilian" would get.

TSA's inbox is probably clogged with spam.

Perhaps. But not to the point that the kids e-mail was lost in a flood of spam. The TSA was able to produce the e-mail some 40 days after they got it, in response to a particular discovery by airline employees.

The kid sent the e-mail to the TSA on the same day he planetd the objects. No e-mail monitoring or snooping program was needed, this one was addressed and delivered to the TSA. They read the e-mail. It said objects had been placed on certain flights, and indicated exactly which flights. TSA reaction? Did they check those 2 flights? Nope.

Fast forward about 40 days. Airline employees find the objects. After that, AFTER that, the TSA forwards the e-mail to the FBI. Oh, another point about the e-mail ... not only did it indicate which objects, which flights ... it also gave an accurate name, address and telephone number for the kid. TSA didn't even call anytime between day 1 and day 40.

It appears the reaction was to read the e-mail, and archive it with no action required. My bet is nobody is fired for poor judgement in handling the e-mail. The kid should have been interviewed on day 1, and the planes should have been inspected on day 1. After all, the TSA had ALL of the information it needed on day 1. It waited until after the objects were found, then went into a "search all 7000 planes" fire-drill as a smoke screen. It waited until AFTER the objects were found to alert the FBI as to the perpetrater's identity.

"Amateur testing of our systems do not show us in any way our flaws," McHale said. "We know where the vulnerabilities are and we are testing them. ... This does not help."

A quick timeline -- kid puts items on plane on day 1, kid e-mails TSA on day 1 and tells them which flights were compromised, and in what way -- SWA employees find items on day 40 (more or less) -- TSA forwards e-mails to FBI on day 41.

Now, tell me about the bureaucratic vulnerability. The test isn't only that something got by the screener. The test is also how the TSA reacts to information. Bureaucratic behavior is predictable, inefficient, and defensive in nature.

Detroit Police Chief fails to declare gun in luggage <-- Link

Correction to post above this one -- it wasn't the Mayor of Detroit, it was the Chief of Police. There may be other mitigating factors in today's case, such as the person was a felon, etc.

The Mayor of Detroit, Michigan was caught with a loaded .25 in his checked bags last week. He was not arrested. He was not deterred from his scheduled flight.

Nation of laws?

The state is sovereign. All property within its confines belongs and is controlled by the state. Your right to own property is granted to you by the state. Its right to remove your property is absolute.

Amendment V of the US Constitution "...nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation."

Not quite absolute, in the general sense. Certainly, no individual has a snowball's chance in hell of beating the government at its own game.

>bump< Western civilization is also at risk as it stops believeing and teachng that it IS superior to the alternatives.

TSA was told where the items were. They didn't even look for them. The items were found by SWA crew. Those are the facts, as I read the stories. A 5 week period elapsed between placement and discovery.

TSA is in charge of aircraft security. FBI comes in after a crime has been commited (in this case, the e-mail indicated comission of a crime). TSA really dropped the ball. TSA is in charge of aircraft security, and when told of forbidden materials being placed, didn't even look in those -2- places.

The last time I looked at a CO detector the minimum detectable of amount of CO was 9 PPM. Thanks for proving my point.

I don't see how that fact proves your point in any way whatseover.

Are you asserting that the level of CO in a typical public indoor space with second hand smoke is 9 ppm and will set off a CO detector?

Because ETS contains Carbon Monoxide, and virtually any prolonged exposure to Carbon Monoxide over the zero baseline level is a health hazard.

You may want to take that up with OSHA and the EPA. Those agencies have established criteria other than "virtually any exposure over the zero baseline level."

Carbon Monoxide (CO) Response <-- Link

"The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has established a maximum safe working level for carbon monoxide at 35 parts per million (ppm) over an 8 hour period, in the general work-place. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established that residential levels are not to exceed 9 ppm over an 8 hour average."

IMO, the safe level is somethng other than zero, even for continuous exposure.

Probably not. I suspect quite a number of folks would enjoy hearing Alan Keyes. But he's a bit intense. I don't mean that as being a bad thing in general. I really enjoy listening to him for 5 - 15 minute stretches. But his sense of humor doesn't come out much when he's on the air.

I listened to him for a couple years ('93-'94) and don't have a clear recollection of his position on issues. I do recall that I frequently disagreed with his position, and/or found his reasoning weak. Still, he is a decent talk show host.

>bump< Mark Belling does a reasonable job as a radio host. Hopefully, a sampling of good talk show hosts will be a boon to the conservative cause.