I AM A DIASPORAL JEW OF THE ASHKENAZ TRIBE AND I HEREBY DECLARE BUELAHMAN AND LYNDA OF BUELAHMAN'S REDSTATE REVOLT TO BE ABSOLUTELY FREE OF ANTI-SEMITISM OF ANY KIND. THEIR VIEWS ON AMERICA'S ISRAEL POLICY IS THE SAME AS MINE. IT IS THE SAME AS WELL OVER 30% OF THE ISRAELI PEOPLE AND OVER 70% OF THE DIASPORAL ASHKENAZ COMMUNITY IN THE WORLD OUTSIDE BOTH THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL.
Over 30 years ago– I had read a small leather-bound book about the Shroud. I enjoyed the starting point that the researcher used . Art. It was amazing and thought provoking. Anyway– since then I have always found the research facinating. Of course I am lost when it comes to why no DNA research– but thats just me. lol
Sun, Nov. 22, 2009
Researcher says faint text proves shroud’s authenticity
By Ariel David
Associated Press
ROME – A Vatican researcher asserts that nearly invisible text on the Shroud of Turin proves that the artifact revered as Jesus’ burial cloth is authentic.
The assertion made by Barbara Frale in a book drew immediate skepticism from some scientists, who maintain the shroud is a medieval forgery.
Frale, a researcher at the Vatican archives, said Friday that she used computers to enhance images of faintly written words in Greek, Latin, and Aramaic scattered across the shroud.
She asserted that the words include the name “Jesus Nazarene” in Greek, proving that the text could not be of medieval origin because no Christian at the time, even a forger, would have labeled Jesus a Nazarene without referring to his divinity.
The shroud bears the figure of a crucified man, complete with blood seeping out of nailed hands and feet, and believers say Christ’s image was recorded on the linen fibers at the time of his resurrection.
The fragile artifact, owned by the Vatican, is kept locked in a special protective chamber in Turin’s cathedral and is rarely shown.
Skeptics point out that radiocarbon dating conducted in 1988 determined it was made in the 13th or 14th century.
While faint letters scattered around the face on the shroud were seen decades ago, serious researchers dismissed them because of the test’s results, Frale said in an interview.
But when she cut out the words from photos of the shroud and showed them to experts, they concurred the writing style was typical of the Middle East in the first century A.D. – Jesus’ time.
She believes the text was written on a document by a clerk and glued to the shroud over the face so the body could be identified by relatives and buried properly. Metals in the ink used at the time may have allowed the writing to transfer to the linen, Frale said.
“I tried to be objective and leave religious issues aside,” Frale said. “What I studied was an ancient document that certifies the execution of a man, in a specific time and place.”
Frale is noted in Italy for her research on the medieval order of the Knights Templar and her discovery of unpublished documents on the group in the Vatican’s archives.
Earlier this year she published a study contending the Templars at one time had the shroud in their possession. That raised eyebrows because the order was abolished in the early 14th century and the shroud is first recorded in history about 1360 in the hands of a French knight.
But her latest book, The Shroud of Jesus Nazarene, in Italian, raised doubts even among experts.
“People work on grainy photos and think they see things,” said Antonio Lombatti, a church historian who has written books about the shroud. “It’s all the result of imagination and computer software.”
Lombatti also rejected the idea that authorities in the time of Jesus would officially return the body of a crucified man to relatives after filling out some paperwork. Victims of the most cruel punishment used by the Romans would usually be left on the cross or were disposed of in a dump to add to the execution’s deterring effect.
People are people everywhere we go aren’t they. I had prior looked into a company called ‘PLUG’ and it actually has stock– it is wave energy. Now listening to this I kept answering outloud… ” Hell we can’t get people to stop killing people and you want to change people into tree planters. Well and good but in a world gone mad… well, really… what are we doing??? and for heavens sake… Carbon Credits exchanged globally– and Carbon swopping??? Geeeeeeeeece
Accidentally last night, I watched a PBS documentary titled “How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin”. I cried so hard. I had no idea about this little known, to me, huge part of history. I Immediately flashed back to the time of my daughters and my reunion. It was filmed live-time in 1998 for The Learning Channel– and as a heart felt thank you, I will never ever forget or regret giving Boris [ the TLC Reunion cameraman-- from Moscow] my ‘Meet the Beatles’ album! I never fully understood his weeping when I gave it to him… not until now. I sincerely hope that you can watch this program . It is just Awesome, and above all just plain humbling. I never knew– I just never knew. Below are 6 links to the documentary that someone was awesome enough to post on youtube!!!
Brief::
Mon, November 9 | 9PM How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin
This is the extraordinary and untold story of how the Beatles punctured the Iron Curtain. In August 1962, award-winning director Leslie Woodhead made a two-minute film, in Liverpool’s Cavern Club, with a raw and unrecorded group of unknown rockers — the Beatles. Twenty-five years later, while making a series of films in Russia, Woodhead learned just how powerful Beatlemania was in the Soviet Union. Even though the Beatles never performed there, their music and rebellious style had soaked into the lives of a generation of Russian kids. This film features personal stories from members of Russia’s Beatles generation, who talk about how the Fab Four changed their lives, gave them hope and helped to undermine the foundations of the Soviet system. The music was the number one enemy of the State, and teens learned English, revolution and gained strength to over throw the Communist system by listening to underground recordings made using old x-ray film negatives called ‘bones’. To this day, the Beatles remain engrained in the life changed hearts of a once hostage entire youth of a nation .
I am not at all surprised that this begins with Iran. It is virtually their only weapon against us. But, smart economists in other countries have been calling for the elimination of the US Dollar as the world’s currency for quite some time.
Tehran (AsiaNews) – Iran, the fourth largest oil producer in the world, announced its intention of replacing the US dollar with the euro in the country’s foreign exchange accounts. Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad signed the decree a few days ago.
The order was issued following a decision by the trustees of the country’s foreign reserves, Iranian media reported. The decision will be particularly significant in the oil field.
Iran produces more than four million of barrels a day, 80 per cent of its foreign exchanges and 50 per cent of the government budget.
In fact, Tehran had already announced its intention of switching to the euro in the past. The presidential decree now appears to implement the decision.
Iranian authorities also called on other OPEC members to ditch the sinking dollar in favor of the more credible euro.
Following the switch, the interest rate for the facilities provided from the Foreign Exchange Reserves will be reduced from12 to 5 per cent.
There simply is no way that our current strategy will correct the mess. To me, this tells that this is purposeful, as I have insinuated many times on this blog (that’s just one example of many). But I have never been able to connect all the dots as to why they want it done. All I have is observation and speculation (and a certain distrust for most things that our government is involved with, since they are owned by corporate interests).
The fact is that the dollar is dropping in value in quick haste.
But here lies the snag: when the dollar degenerates due to too much in the world market or most any of the plethora of reasons why it might drop in value, the one thing we used to be capable of was invigorating our manufacturing because as a rule, when the dollar declines, foreigners see an opportunity to buy our products. Exports normally go up.
But it isn’t happening today, is it?
The entire world (except for the ultra rich) is putting the scrag in mason jars and burying them in the back yard. We (most of us) learned the lesson (some, like me, the hard way) that we must stop the insane credit life of perpetual indebtedness. Some of us figured out that it is nothing more than a gigantic Ponzi Scheme and the more we buy on credit, the more we are owned and indebted to the very ones that caused the problem to begin with.
There is no doubt in my mind that what is happening is intentional. I cannot seem to grasp the end-goal, unless it is the horrific agenda that folks like Alex Jones seems to think it is (mass eugenics).
No matter what the end game, I am as prepared as I know to be at this moment in time and with the resources I have.
The Dollar value thingy means so little to me personally because I don’t have any to worry about. But as a nation, we better be very concerned about what the next steps are after Iran drops the Dollar. It is only a matter of time before China, Russia and, yes, even Europe dumps it, as well.
It will be that moment that the true nightmare begins in this country. Why? Because we are unable to produce our way out of it since we have lost so much of our manufacturing base.
Trader’s Narrative wonders if the Fed can pull off the seemingly impossible:
Can the Fed pull a rabbit out of its hat? That is to say, can they strike the balance between protecting a resurgence of economic activity while not nuking the dollar? If they do, it will be among precious few achievements on their mantle. Right now sentiment is skewed severely towards bearishness on the dollar and a disbelief in any outcome other than one in which the US dollar is laid to waste. Given everything we know, this may seem to be the most rational way to think about things. But you have to wonder when so many are taking the same side of a trade.
The following official governmental statistics, up to December 2008, show the disastrous conditions prevalent in Iraq since the American invasion and occupation of that country.
Translated and adapted from Arabic by Khalil Nakhleh
1. One million widowed Iraqi women (according to Iraqi Ministry of Women Affairs).
2. Four million orphaned Iraqi children (according to estimates by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning).
3. Two and a half million (2,500,000) Iraqis killed (according to the Iraqi Ministry of Health and Forensic Medicine).
4. 800,000 Iraqis have disappeared in secret holding places connected with the different ruling parties (according to registered complaints at the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior).
5. 340,000 Iraqi prisoners, detained without charge, in U.S. army prisons, the prisons of the Iraqi government, and the prisons in the Kurdistan District (according to Iraqi, Arab, international and UN human rights organizations and agencies). US occupying forces admit officially that the number of Iraqi detainees in their prisons is about 120,000.
6. Four and a half million (4,500,000) Iraqis are refugees outside Iraq (according to statistics of those seeking passports (category C) from the General Directorate of Passports.
7. Two and a half million (2,500,000) Iraqis are refugees inside Iraq (according to the Iraqi Ministry of Refugees).
8. 76,000 registered Iraqi cases of AIDS; this number did not exceed 114 cases before the invasion and occupation of Iraq (according to the Iraqi Ministry of Health).
9. Frightening spread of the use of addictive drugs imported from Iran, among youth (according to the Iraqi Ministry of Health and the Center for Combating Drugs and Addictions). I have written a series of well-researched articles about the various methods used to smuggle drugs, some of which are highly toxic, and how they are collected in different storage places in the southern districts, under the total control of some of the parties and the militias participating in the government, and how the profits from these drugs are used to buy (pay off) government officials, in order to gain their support and silence, and to finance their election campaigns.
10. Three out of every four marriages end up in divorce since the invasion and occupation of Iraq (according to Iraqi Ministry of Health).
11. More than 40% of the Iraqi people are under the poverty line (according to the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights). I believe, however, that the actual percentage is much higher, and surpasses 55%.
12. Decline in the level and quality of basic and tertiary education, according to statements made by officials in UNESCO, which led this organization to refuse to recognize university degrees issued by Iraqi tertiary institutions (universities and colleges).
13. Tens of thousands of forged university degrees are granted to high government officials, high ranking officers, directors generals, and senior officials of political parties (according to statements and statistics from the Iraqi Honesty and Transparency Commission).
14. There exist about 550 political bodies and party coalitions (according to the Iraqi Independent Public Elections Commission), and, as of today, there is no law regulating this large number of political bodies.
15. There exist about 11,400 civil society organizations (according to the Iraqi ministries of the Interior, Justice and Social Welfare). These organizations have public and secret objectives, and it is not clear what these are, and how they are financed.
16. There are 126 security companies controlled by foreign secret service agencies, and registered at the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior. The declared objective of these companies is to protect foreign embassies, foreign diplomats, and visiting VIPs. However, their hidden objectives are unknown. In this case, what is the value of having today one million persons under arms in Iraq, distributed among the Ministries of Defense, the Interior, the various governmental security agencies, in addition to the security agencies of the various ruling parties.
17. There are 43 officially registered armed militias connected to parties.
18. There are 220 newspapers and media publications financed by foreign secret service agencies (according to Iraqi Journalist Union). The specific objectives of these publications is to do brainwashing of Iraqis, to remove their thinking about the various projects aiming at fragmenting Iraq into sectarian, regional, and ethnic mini-states, and to destroy their national identity.
19. There are 45 TV channels financed by foreign secret service agencies (according to statements by the Management of Nilesat and Arabsat satellite service providers).
20. There are 67 radio stations financed by foreign secret service agencies (according to statements by the Iraqi Information Commission).
21. There are 4 networks of digital communications, the estimated value of each is 12 billion dollars, financed in favor of party leaders. Among which are the following companies:
Kork Company owned exclusively by Mas’aoud Barazani (the President of the Kurdistan District);
Assia Company owned exclusively by Jalal Talbani (the President of Iraq);
Zein Company (Kuwaiti), 50% is owned by Ahmad Jalabi and the Islamic Da’wah Party;
Atheer Company owned exclusively by Abdel Aziz al-Hakim.
22. There are more than 11,400 official and unofficial party headquarters. These could be the offices of fake contracting company, or an NGO, or a political group. However, these headquarters in reality are public premises for the Iraqi government that were taken over from their legitimate owners after they were eliminated, or forced to vacate and seek refuge somewhere else. All are paid for from the Iraqi national budget.
This is only the tip of the iceberg of what’s happening in “their new democratic Iraq”, since the American invasion and occupation of the country.
The article appeared originally in www.kanaanonline.org, no. 1973, on 30.7.2009.
Sabah al-Baghdadi is an independent Iraqi journalist and researcher; he may be reached at sabahalbaghdadi@maktoob.com.
Translated and adapted by Dr. Khalil Nakhleh:
Dr. Khalil Nakhleh is an independent Palestinian researcher and development consultant; he may be reached at abusama@palnet.com.
From Gorilla’s Guides I read this article and felt that if the shoe were on the other foot, we, as Americans, would feel exactly the same way. The exhilaration of being around mighty military weaponry and those cool fatigues with grenades and machine guns. But, after time, the “coolness” wears off and you are faced with the reality of the situation…
Those military men are in our country and no matter how many pictures we see of them holding Iraqi kids, their job is NOT to coddle and take care of children (as I wrote earlier this year about John Gebhardt shown above). Their job is to kill people. THAT, Mr and Mrs America, is precisely what we train, arm and pay them to do.
So, when they realize that they are endangered, they stop protecting and holding the little kids and start blasting (as is told in the story below).
In so many words, those pictures are very short snap shots of men who have a moment of humanity. But believe me that they know their job and role. When it comes to the nut cuttin’, they will drop those little kids and start blowing shit up. And the children get caught in the middle and suffer.
When someone go through any internet searching machine, pictures of US soldiers playing with children and exchanging gifts, is a very common image that brings out the question: Is that a normal behavior or just an isolated propaganda?
Since the US-led invasion in 2003, Iraq suffered from a serious economic crisis but it never took away the hope of thousands of Iraqis, mainly children countrywide.
An Image of Freedom
Iraqi children previously saw the US military image as a perfect freedom symbol during Saddam Hussein’s regime. Foreign movies always depicted American forces as the most structured and strongest among all military troops worldwide.
When the US troops first arrived in Iraq, a relationship started to shape between them and kids, mainly in Baghdad, but after a couple of months, this nice and friendly relation gradually started to disappear.
Exchange of candies and flowers was a nice way found to alleviate the tense conditions that was ongoing in the occupied country. Before the US fighting against resistance groups in Fallujah in 2004, families were keen to let their children get closer to the American soldiers, exchange gifts or play football.
Reasons Why Kids Get Closer
“Nowadays, kids get closer to US soldiers either because they are too afraid to run away when they are approaching them or because they feel excited when seeing military equipments like tanks and so on, and these tanks weren’t probably the reason why someone at their family was killed,” said Abbas Jomaa, an aid worker working with children rights in Iraq.
“US soldiers weren’t able to build a nice relationship with the Iraqis because they lack knowledge in how to deal with human beings rather than the ones living in their own country. It strongly differs from British troops that are withdrawing from Iraq without leaving too many destructive memories among southern residents,” he added.
According to children and parents, when Iraqi kids get closer to US troops there is a hidden interest. Either because they are just looking for candies or because they have been sent as spies by resistance groups but not because they see them as heroes.
“The Idea of Seeing Them Again Gives Me Fear”
“When US troops invaded Iraq I was seven-years old and it was a fantastic feeling to get close to them, try to speak and laugh at their funny jokes and the couple of Arabic words they knew but today, the idea of seeing them again gives me fear, especially after looking behind and seeing how many people they killed since they invaded our country,” Teif Omar Al-Mishahda, 13, a student in Baghdad, said.
“My youngest brother gets excited when he sees an American soldier but he is too little to understand what they have done to us and it is better to let him think it is a good thing rather than destroy his dreams in a so early period of his life,” he claimed.
Parents say that directly after the US-invasion, they didn’t feel any kind of danger towards the proximity their children were trying to build with the US soldiers but by time, they realised that they weren’t what they had promised and so, they preferred to keep their children away.
“US soldiers try to be nice and I believe that many of them really are, but I can’t really take the risk because when they feel in danger, they wont care if my son is close to them and will leave him in the middle of the cross-fire. That exactly is what happened to my nephew who was getting some candies from them and when they felt threatened by a car passing by, they started shooting and my nephew ended handicapped,” said Ranuah al-Gayyara, 38, a housewife and mother of two.
“They were supposed to bring peace and democracy but what they gave us was just suffering, misery, pain and hunger,” she noted. “I don’t think it is clever to leave your kid close to someone like that.”
An Artificial Relationship
Maruan Jahnoon, one of the few psychologists who remained in Iraq, said that the relation between Iraqi children and US soldiers has always been artificial as well as with other country residents.
“American soldiers weren’t clever since they invaded Iraq. They had a chance to gain the trust from the majority of Iraqis. Children wanted to be close to them all the time and when they were passing by any street, children could be seen running and smiling after them. Where is that now?” he asked.
“In less than one year, US soldiers destroyed all the remaining kindness Iraqis were having towards them. If they knew how to get those childrens’ trust, families would have followed their kids’ confidence and would not have taken them away. When I ask any patient aging below fifteen years old, 95 percent of them say that they are afraid from the Americans and hope to see them out of Iraq,” he added.
“That’s what they will leave as a memory from Iraq beside death and the incapacity to help building a better life for the ones they said that had came to help improve their living conditions or build democracy,” Jahnoon said.
US soldiers aren’t allowed to speak with the press without their superiors’ authorisation, but in an anonymous conversation, an American soldier said that he carries true feelings for all Iraqi children and that he is sorry if another colleague one day was responsible of takng away the smile of an Iraqi child.
“Today I Just Wish to See Them Away”
Khalid Abdullah, 14, is one of the hundreds of children that one day fell in love with the US soldiers but today, it’s just a different story.
“On the same day, two years ago, I was playing with the soldiers and got some candies, I came home happy to tell my mother. When I entered the house I saw her crying and hitting her head and soon realised that my father had been killed one hour before by American troops while he was driving his cab. How can I get close or admire someone who killed my father?” he asked.
“The candies they gave me that day turned into something bitter. Today I just hope to see them away and never would dare speak with them again,” he added.
About: Afif Sarhan is a Brazilian Lebanese freelance writer and reporter, specialized in covering humanitarian issues, politics, gender discrimination, and minority rights. He is also an IslamOnline.net correspondent in Iraq.
You rednecks still proud of your Corporately appointed president? Still going to defend him even when the very base promiselie he made to get you gullible sheople to elect him is now a historical side note? Of course John McCain would do the same shit, he just has no gravitas to pull off the lie, as did Mr Obama. But this ain’t about them anymore, is it? This is about us rednecks who are apparently too stupid to realize that both of the corporately funded parties don’t give a rat’s ass about us (unless, somehow, it is politically expedient). But nowadays, their blatant lies and deceit isn’t even really hidden. They wore your asses out with numbnuts “W” and gave you Mr Suave to give you the illusion of sanity, but guess what… its the same old, same old when it comes to military policy (and quite a few other policies endearing to their Masters).
Here is the deal in a nutshell. Mr Obama smoothly fills you a line of shit, and you swallow. You are desperate for a hero, but, of course, he is in a desperate place right now, for the country is falling apart all around him. Thank God he has advisers that make sure that those in power (the Corporate Elite, ie… Big Money) are well taken care of and that their ultimate goal of world power and hegemony is served. For each and every redneck needs to understand one simple fact: Mr Obama’s country (hence, YOUR country), come hell or high water, IS going to steal the world’s energy sources. That’s a Fact. It is the purpose of those who actually run things to make us and keep us an Empire. Until this one basic issue is resolved, NOTHING can be healed.
Even the suave and sophisticated Barack Obama must serve this purpose. Even if he wants to do differently, he won’t.
Look here. There are “officially” 860 US military bases scattered throughout the world, according to the Penatgon. But David Devine points out:
Officially the Pentagon counts 865 base sites, but this notoriously unreliable number omits all our bases in Iraq (likely over 100) and Afghanistan (80 and counting), among many other well-known and secretive bases. More than half a century after World War II and the Korean War, we still have 268 bases in Germany, 124 in Japan, and 87 in South Korea. Others are scattered around the globe in places like Aruba and Australia, Bulgaria and Bahrain, Colombia and Greece, Djibouti, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, and of course, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba – just to name a few. Among the installations considered critical to our national security are a ski center in the Bavarian Alps, resorts in Seoul and Tokyo, and 234 golf courses the Pentagon runs worldwide.
Of course this doesn’t address the ones we have here in the US, nor am I suggesting that each and every foreign base needs to be shut down at this time (for each should be evaluated on its own purpose). But 268 in Germany alone? Give me a break.
If that breakdown isn’t staggering and eye-opening, I am afraid you will never get it. If you will insist to me that all of these are needed in this time of economic hardships here, within our borders, or that “it is because of the military we owe our freedoms” (as if this justifies spending any and every amount they ask for), then you are a reckless (and clueless) person. We need our military to defend us, not to secure an energy source we are stealing from another country or to prop up a failed Cold War mentality. We don’t need many of those bases and untold amounts of money could be used here, in America, where we need it.
I will also point out that we NEED our militia (National Guard) home NOW. Their entire purpose is to be here instead of the US Forces that are training to do this. Do you wonder why they would be training American combat forces to “help” American citizens when we have a National Guard who should be doing this, yet many of them have or are now serving in combat?
Mr Obama’s “residual force” (suave speak for troops left to protect our energy thievery) is 50,000 (according to Dandelion Salad’s link). Of course his peanut gallery full of Obamamaniacs will scream that this is what he always meant in his rhetoric. That “combat troops” and “residual forces” are somehow NOT the same thing (when the very basis for their being there is to protect “our resources“; at least according to the “scariest dude I know” tally whacker on Glenn Beck’s show, as if anything in Iraq belongs to us now that we mistakenlypurposefully invaded their country over mistakenfalse pretenseslies).
This is the epitome of Jingoism (or spread-eagleism). If you believe that any thing in Iraq, oil or whatever, is ours, then you are no true patriot. And neither is “the scariest dude I know”, along with every other nincompoop who suggests such a thing. Because I guarantee this, if the shoe were on the other foot (and some asshole Empire invaded the US) your whole story would be different. You would be pissed and you would do something about it (because the shit in America is American). At least a true American Patriot would. And this means that a true American Patriot would understand the plight of those who have been done so wrong for such admittedly bogus reasons and would stand up for them, the innocent.
It used to be that southerners were very patriotic (when the word meant more than just garbling up whatever their preacher told them is patriotic). Now we believe that a flag pin or a flag bumper sticker, along with believing anything the lying leaders tell us is enough to be “patriotic”. But patriotism isn’t nationalism or trusting and believeing what your “leaders” tell you.
Socrates pondered:
“patriotism does not require one to agree with everything that his country does and would actually promote analytical questioning in a quest to make the country the best it possibly can be.”
In other words, a True Patriot will actually Question everything analytically and not just believe their leaders or what his country does elsewhere in the world. Especially when it goes against everything that this country was founded upon. Just read the constitution to get a feel for what I’m talking about. You never know what you might learn.
This movie was discussed at my family Christmas in New Jersey. I was actually amazed at how many of my cousins had never heard of it…. and considering I am the oldest living relative at this time [geeeece].. it was me and my cousins kids [college age] that had seen it. It is the cult classic of the decade. This flick is not for anyone who is younger than 18[? that's relative], it is very very violent and graphic… and the ‘f’ word is countless. But, I must say– it is quoted by fans more than any other flick, I have seen it numerous times, it actually made me laugh my ass off… and the characters are so clearly defined and fit the story perfectly. Have any of you seen it? …let’s have a ‘Latte’ and share thoughts. lol lol
* when Rocco runs into the apartment to announce they all have to leave…
[unless you have seen this flick, you can't appreciate how funny this is actually]
FRANCISCO – Users of all current versions of Microsoft Corp.’s Internet Explorer browser might be vulnerable to having their computers hijacked because of a serious security hole in the software that had yet to be fixed Monday.
The flaw lets criminals commandeer victims’ machines merely by tricking them into visiting Web sites tainted with malicious programming code. As many as 10,000 sites have been compromised since last week to exploit the browser flaw, according to antivirus software maker Trend Micro Inc.
The sites are mostly Chinese and have been serving up programs that steal passwords for computer games, which can be sold for money on the black market. However, the hole is such that it could be “adopted by more financially motivated criminals for more serious mayhem — that’s a big fear right now,” Paul Ferguson, a Trend Micro security researcher, said Monday.
“Zero-day” vulnerabilities like this are security holes that haven’t been repaired by the software makers. They’re a gold mine for criminals because users have few ways to fight off attacks.
The latest vulnerability is noteworthy because Internet Explorer is the default browser for most of the world’s computers. Also, while Microsoft says it has detected attacks only against version 7 of Internet Explorer, which is the most widely used edition, the company warned that other versions are also potentially vulnerable.
Microsoft said it is investigating the flaw and is considering fixing it through an emergency software patch outside of its normal monthly updates, but declined further comment. The company is telling users to employ a series of complicated workarounds to minimize the threat.
Many security experts, meanwhile, are urging Internet Explorer users to use another browser until a patch is released.
Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution
Published: December 10, 2008 | Updated: December 13, 2008
Microsoft is continuing its investigation of public reports of attacks against a new vulnerability in Internet Explorer. Our investigation so far has shown that these attacks are only against Windows Internet Explorer 7 on supported editions of Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, Windows Vista Service Pack 1, and Windows Server 2008. Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 Service Pack 4, Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1, Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, and Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 on all supported versions of Microsoft Windows are potentially vulnerable.
This update to the advisory contains information about a new workaround and a recommendation on the most effective workarounds.
The vulnerability exists as an invalid pointer reference in the data binding function of Internet Explorer. When data binding is enabled (which is the default state), it is possible under certain conditions for an object to be released without updating the array length, leaving the potential to access the deleted object’s memory space. This can cause Internet Explorer to exit unexpectedly, in a state that is exploitable.
At this time, we are aware only of limited attacks that attempt to use this vulnerability against Windows Internet Explorer 7. Our investigation of these attacks so far has verified that they are not successful against customers who have applied the workarounds listed in this advisory. Additionally, there are mitigations that increase the difficulty of exploiting this vulnerability.
We are actively working with partners in our
Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP) and our Microsoft Security Response Alliance (MSRA) programs to provide information that they can use to provide broader protections to customers. In addition, we’re actively working with partners to monitor the threat landscape and take action against malicious sites that attempt to exploit this vulnerability. Current trending indicates that there may be attempts to utilize SQL Injection attacks against Web sites to load attack code on those Web sites. If you’re a Web site operation, please review Microsoft Security Advisory (954462), which provides information on tools you can use to analyze your Web site’s code to help protect against SQL Injection attacks.We are actively investigating the vulnerability that these attacks attempt to exploit. We will continue to monitor the threat environment and update this advisory if this situation changes. On completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate action to protect our customers, which may include providing a solution through a service pack, our monthly security update release process, or an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs.
Microsoft continues to encourage customers to follow the “Protect Your Computer” guidance of enabling a firewall, applying all software updates and installing anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Additional information can be found at
Protected Mode in Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 in Windows Vista limits the impact of the vulnerability.
•
By default, Internet Explorer on Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 runs in a restricted mode that is known as
Enhanced Security Configuration. This mode sets the security level for the Internet zone to High. This is a mitigating factor for Web sites that you have not added to the Internet Explorer Trusted sites zone.
•
An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less affected than users who operate with administrative user rights.
•
Currently known attacks cannot exploit this issue automatically through e-mail.
For the last two weeks I have wondered where the f– the web-mail log-ins with odd names were coming up for. I kept thinking : Has my server changed?” Thank goodness I just clicked onto something else.
I like stuff as much as the next guy. My closet is stuffed with stuff, my shelves groan with stuff, boxes full of stuff jam my garage. I like stuff just fine.
But I would not kill for it.
Last week, a 34-year-old man was trampled to death by a mob rushing into a Wal-Mart to buy stuff. Jdimytai Damour was a seasonal worker manning the door of a store in Valley Stream, N.Y., as shoppers eager for so-called ”Black Friday” bargains massed outside. The store was scheduled to open at 5 a.m., but that was not early enough for the 2,000 would-be shoppers. At five minutes before the hour, they were banging their fists and pressing their weight against the glass doors, which bowed and then broke in a shower of glass. The mob stormed in.
Four people, including a pregnant woman, were injured. And Damour was killed as people stomped over him, looking for good prices on DVDs, winter coats and PlayStations. Nor was the mob sobered by his death. As authorities sought to clear the store, some defiantly kept shopping; others complained that they had been on line since the night before.
And here, it seems appropriate to observe the obvious irony: Black Friday is the traditional beginning of the Christmas shopping season, Christmas being the holiday when, Christians believe, hope was born into the world in the form of a baby who became a man who preached a gospel of service to, and compassion for, our fellow human beings.
It is hard to see evidence of either in the mob’s treatment of Jdimytai Damour, and if your inclination is to heap scorn upon them, I don’t blame you. But I would caution against regarding them as freaks or aberrations whose callous madness would never be seen in sane and normal people like ourselves. That would be false comfort.
You may think I’m talking about mob psychology and to a degree, I am. From soccer riots to the Holocaust itself, human beings have always had a tendency to lose individual identity and accountability when gathered in groups. You will do things as part of a crowd that you never would as an individual. Theoretically, anyone who lacked a strong-enough moral center and sense of self could have been part of that mob in Valley Stream.
But it’s not just our common vulnerability to mob psychology that ties the rest of us to last week’s tragedy. It is also our common love of stuff. Indeed, it is hard to imagine a starker illustration of our true priorities. Oh, we pay lip service to other things. We say children are a priority, but when did people ever press against the door for Parents’ Night at school? We say education is a priority, but when did people ever bang against the windows of the library? We say faith is a priority, but when did people ever surge into a temple of worship as eagerly as they do a temple of commerce?
No, sale prices on iPods, that’s our true priority. Jdimytai Damour died because too many of us have bought, heart and soul, into the great lie of American consumerism: acquiring stuff will make you whole. ”You, Happier,” is how a sign at my local Best Buy puts it. As if owning a Jonas Brothers CD, an Iron Man DVD, a Sony HDTV, will elevate you to a level of joy otherwise impossible to attain. Hey, you may be a total loser, may not have a friend, may not have an education, may not have a job, may not have a clue, but it will all be OK as soon as you get that new Canon digital camera, especially if you get it for 50 percent off.
It would be nice to think — I will not hold my breath — that Damour’s death would lead at least some of us to finally see that for the obscene lie it is, to realize that seeking wholeness in consumer goods is an act of emptiness, not joy.
This drives me NUTS! In my field of Social Work [years ago]… I can not even begin to tell you how many soldiers were lost due to PTSD ‘after’ being placed into unjust wars much less insane circumstances. WWI saw this very same thing– as well as WWII. No one wanted to se it for what it is. It is about time someone woke up and made this program a reality! It should of been S.O.P. anyway years and years ago!
Filner Advocates ‘De-Boot Camp’ for GIs
November 22, 2008The Washington Post
A key House leader is proposing to establish a “de-boot camp,” where returning service members would undergo mandatory diagnosis for brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in order to reduce instances of domestic violence and suicide.
Rep. Bob Filner, chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said Wednesday he will lobby the Obama administration for the de-boot camp and other new initiatives for service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as veterans from the Vietnam era.
“There were more suicides [postwar] by Vietnam veterans than those who died in the war. We cannot make the same mistakes again. Mental illness is an injury that has to be dealt with,”Mr. Filner said during an editorial board at The Washington Times. “We all have to understand what they are facing. We all have to understand PTSD.”
The California Democrat said he wants the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reduce a backlog of claims by granting all claims made by Vietnam veterans who say they suffer illnesses from exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange.
He said he also advocates a “radical” new approach to veterans health care that would allow veterans living in rural areas to have more choices to access health care, even private alternatives, rather than travel hundreds of miles to veterans hospitals.
Mr. Filner, who is not a veteran himself but represents a large veterans constituency in the San Diego area, said he would even support privatizing psychological care for veterans suffering from PTSD.
Many active-duty personnel are returning home as veterans who are “wounded psychologically,” he said during an hourlong meeting with editors and reporters. “If they don’t kill their wives or themselves, they end up homeless.”
“Something is going on that we are not dealing with,” said Mr. Filner, 66.
With a survival rate at 95 percent, nearly 1 million new veterans will emerge from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The psychological wounds are going to last a very long time,” Mr. Filner said. “The public has to support the new veterans.”
After the Vietnam War, there was a failure to distinguish between the war and the warrior that lead to social displacement, mental disorders, homelessness and even suicide, Mr. Filner said.
News reports suggest that as many as 1,000 veterans a month attempt suicide. A third of those diagnosed with PTSD have committed felonies, Mr. Filner said.
“This is a moral issue, and I think [President-elect Barack] Obama will agree with that,” he said.
The “de-boot camp” Mr. Filner envisions could last weeks, even a month, to prepare the military and National Guardsmen to re-enter society. It would include mandatory evaluations by medical professionals to diagnose brain injuries and PTSD.
Currently, the military only offers a two-hour lecture in which “kids are falling asleep,” Mr. Filner said. “It’s so boring.”
While diagnosis would be mandatory, seeking psychological help would be voluntary. Such help would include educational and vocational counseling and would involve spouses and family.
Mr. Filner said he would like to see more access to necessary private hospital care for seriously wounded veterans in rural areas where they may not have the major medical facilities that are available in urban centers.
“In terms of access to that care for rural veterans, who may be away from main centers where their community may have good care, they ought to be far more open to specialties that may not be available within their locale, then we ought to get them into the private system as quick as we can,” he said.
Unfortunately, VA hospital officials all too often are “very hesitant about doing it” because of cost considerations, he said. “They don’t want” care delivered outside the VA hospital system “because if everyone is going to the Mayo Clinic, it’s going to cost a lot.”
But Mr. Filner said he favors expanding access to private care “in certain situations for rural veterans in some specialty areas,” adding that “they’ve got to be far more open and quick about allowing that to happen.”
Mr. Filner also addressed The Washington Times/ABC News investigation into ethical questions about experiments that involve human subjects — specifically, the smoking-cessation drug Chantix that has been linked to dozens of suicides and suicidal behavior.
A study that specifically targeted veterans suffering from PTSD included more than 100 who were taking the drug, but the VA failed to notify the participants of the new Food and Drug Administration warnings until nearly three months later.
“There has got to be really tight kinds of controls on this kind of research,” said Mr. Filner, who expressed disappointment that the VA did not pull the program, which he said was “problematic” for “fragile” veterans.
The entire culture at the VA must be overhauled, Mr. Filner said.
“For a lot of veterans, VA means advisory instead of advocate,” he said. “People in there are really good people, they just need to be inspired.”
Former AT&T technician Mark Klein and internet expert Brian Reid describe an NSA listening room that Klein discovered while working at the company’s operations center. In “Spying on the Home Front” FRONTLINE talks to intelligence insiders and asks: Is the Bush administration’s domestic war on terrorism jeopardizing our civil liberties?
In “Spying on the Home Front,” Reporter Hedrick Smith presents new material on how the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program works and examines clashing viewpoints on whether the President has violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and infringed on constitutional protections.
In another dramatic story, the program shows how the FBI vacuumed up records on 250,000 ordinary Americans who chose Las Vegas as the destination for their Christmas-New Year’s holiday, and the subsequent revelation that the FBI has misused National Security Letters to gather information. Probing such projects as Total Information Awareness, and its little known successors, Smith discloses that even former government intelligence officials now worry that the combination of new security threats, advances in communications technologies, and radical interpretations of presidential authority may be threatening the privacy of Americans. ,
THIS IS A ‘MUST READ’ IF YOU ARE TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE TAX SYSTEM WORKS…
Bar Stool Economics…..
This is ‘crystal’ clear…
EXACTLY how the system works (or… FAILS ! ! ! ) whether you like beer or not is immaterial…
Never did I have it explained to me as eloquently and succinctly as the professor explained below!
Having beer in the story makes it even better and more personal!
Bar stool economics:
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that’s what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
‘Since you are all such good customers,’ he said, ‘I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.’
Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men – the paying customers?
How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33.
But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.
So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before.
And the first four continued to drink for free.
But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
‘I only got a dollar out of the $20,’declared the sixth man.
He pointed to the tenth man,’ but he got $10!’
‘Yeah, that’s right,’ exclaimed the fifth man. ‘I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten
times more than I.’
‘That’s true!!’ shouted the seventh man.
‘Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!’
‘Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. ‘We didn’t get anything at all.
The system exploits the poor!’
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works.
The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction.
Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
David R. Kamerschen , Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.
BuelahMan
Lynda
kelsosnuts
