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April 8, 2024
The Associated Press
Scathing federal report rips Microsoft for shoddy security, insincerity in response to Chinese hack
Story by FRANK BAJAK, AP Technology Writer
BOSTON (AP) — In a scathing indictment of Microsoft corporate security and transparency, a Biden administration-appointed review board issued a report Tuesday saying “a cascade of errors” by the tech giant let state-backed Chinese cyber operators break into email accounts of senior U.S. officials including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
The Cyber Safety Review Board, created in 2021 by executive order, describes shoddy cybersecurity practices, a lax corporate culture and a lack of sincerity about the company's knowledge of the targeted breach, which affected multiple U.S. agencies that deal with China.
It concluded that “Microsoft's security culture was inadequate and requires an overhaul" given the company's ubiquity and critical role in the global technology ecosystem. Microsoft products “underpin essential services that support national security, the foundations of our economy, and public health and safety.”
…more…
(Hubris. Late stage capitalism. As things fall apart. See Boeing et al.)
federal report rips Microsoft for shoddy security, insincerity in response to Chinese hack
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/scathing-federal-report-rips-microsoft-for-shoddy-security-insincerity-in-response-to-chinese-hack/ar-BB1kYkKLThe Associated Press
Scathing federal report rips Microsoft for shoddy security, insincerity in response to Chinese hack
Story by FRANK BAJAK, AP Technology Writer
BOSTON (AP) — In a scathing indictment of Microsoft corporate security and transparency, a Biden administration-appointed review board issued a report Tuesday saying “a cascade of errors” by the tech giant let state-backed Chinese cyber operators break into email accounts of senior U.S. officials including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
The Cyber Safety Review Board, created in 2021 by executive order, describes shoddy cybersecurity practices, a lax corporate culture and a lack of sincerity about the company's knowledge of the targeted breach, which affected multiple U.S. agencies that deal with China.
It concluded that “Microsoft's security culture was inadequate and requires an overhaul" given the company's ubiquity and critical role in the global technology ecosystem. Microsoft products “underpin essential services that support national security, the foundations of our economy, and public health and safety.”
…more…
(Hubris. Late stage capitalism. As things fall apart. See Boeing et al.)
April 7, 2024
Welcome to the wholesome, yet splintered, community of online stick reviews
We have stick-heads, as we call them, all over the globe,’ says one of the men behind Official Stick Reviews
Sheena Goodyear · CBC Radio · Posted: Apr 05, 2024 2:03 PM PDT | Last Updated: April 5
As It Happens6:04
These men review sticks online, and they have a whole community of 'stick-heads' behind them
"The grain is just beautiful," says a bearded man standing in the forest, cradling a long, spiralling stick that he found on the ground.
"It's cascading down almost waterfall-eque," he says in a video review as he gently caresses the metre-long, helix-shaped branch with his finger, before bringing it in for a deep sniff.
"Smells like sage," he says approvingly. "Some eucalyptus in there, too."
…more…
(Shake it.)
Simple pleasures: Welcome to the wholesome, yet splintered, community of online stick reviews
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/online-stick-reviews-1.7165135Welcome to the wholesome, yet splintered, community of online stick reviews
We have stick-heads, as we call them, all over the globe,’ says one of the men behind Official Stick Reviews
Sheena Goodyear · CBC Radio · Posted: Apr 05, 2024 2:03 PM PDT | Last Updated: April 5
As It Happens6:04
These men review sticks online, and they have a whole community of 'stick-heads' behind them
"The grain is just beautiful," says a bearded man standing in the forest, cradling a long, spiralling stick that he found on the ground.
"It's cascading down almost waterfall-eque," he says in a video review as he gently caresses the metre-long, helix-shaped branch with his finger, before bringing it in for a deep sniff.
"Smells like sage," he says approvingly. "Some eucalyptus in there, too."
…more…
(Shake it.)
April 6, 2024
Blue, mysterious and arriving by the millions: the alien-like creatures blanketing US beaches
Masses of ephemeral organisms known as ‘by-the-wind sailors’ wash up in a ‘blue tide’ on the west coast most years but warmer winter seas could be increasingly their numbers
Katharine Gammon
Fri 5 Apr 2024 07.00 EDT
From Oregon to California, blankets of alien-like blue creatures are washing up on rocky beaches. They are Velella velella, tiny colonies of organisms with a sombrero-esque fin sticking out the top and tentacles dangling down.
Millions have been spotted along the US west coast this spring, much to the surprise and delight of beachgoers who have gleefully posted footage on social media. Some call it a “blue tide” and it happens most springs – but not always to the same degree of abundance.
Though they look like one organism, velella – also known as by-the-wind sailors – are actually colonies of creatures from a class called hydrozoa that use the wind to speed along. They spend most of their lives out in the open ocean, searching the water column below them with tentacles that sting fish larvae or zooplankton, but are harmless to humans. One part of the colony is responsible for eating, another for reproduction. Coral is another colonial organism – but it’s uncommon to encounter such colonies on land, says Anya Stajner, a doctoral student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
There are a few theories about how the animals got their brilliant blue color. Living at the interface of the air and ocean doesn’t offer them many places to hide from predators such as the huge mola mola ocean sunfish, which sucks up velella like candy. Their color might help them disguise themselves by blending in with waves, Stajner says. Another theory is that the color protects them from harsh UV rays – a sort of built-in sunscreen.
…more…
(Maybe someone can post a photo?)
Blue, mysterious and arriving by the millions: the alien-like creatures blanketing US beaches
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/05/blue-tide-west-coast-beachesBlue, mysterious and arriving by the millions: the alien-like creatures blanketing US beaches
Masses of ephemeral organisms known as ‘by-the-wind sailors’ wash up in a ‘blue tide’ on the west coast most years but warmer winter seas could be increasingly their numbers
Katharine Gammon
Fri 5 Apr 2024 07.00 EDT
From Oregon to California, blankets of alien-like blue creatures are washing up on rocky beaches. They are Velella velella, tiny colonies of organisms with a sombrero-esque fin sticking out the top and tentacles dangling down.
Millions have been spotted along the US west coast this spring, much to the surprise and delight of beachgoers who have gleefully posted footage on social media. Some call it a “blue tide” and it happens most springs – but not always to the same degree of abundance.
Though they look like one organism, velella – also known as by-the-wind sailors – are actually colonies of creatures from a class called hydrozoa that use the wind to speed along. They spend most of their lives out in the open ocean, searching the water column below them with tentacles that sting fish larvae or zooplankton, but are harmless to humans. One part of the colony is responsible for eating, another for reproduction. Coral is another colonial organism – but it’s uncommon to encounter such colonies on land, says Anya Stajner, a doctoral student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
There are a few theories about how the animals got their brilliant blue color. Living at the interface of the air and ocean doesn’t offer them many places to hide from predators such as the huge mola mola ocean sunfish, which sucks up velella like candy. Their color might help them disguise themselves by blending in with waves, Stajner says. Another theory is that the color protects them from harsh UV rays – a sort of built-in sunscreen.
…more…
(Maybe someone can post a photo?)
April 5, 2024
That Guy Who Backed Trump’s Bond? He May Not Have the Money
Story by Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling
In a court filing on Thursday, Knight Speciality Insurance Company revealed that its liquid assets don’t meet the needs of Trump’s already minimized bond. According to a financial assessment, the company, owned by billionaire Don Hankey, has just $138 million in “surplus.” Knight would therefore need to spend 127 percent of its reserves in order to cover Trump’s bond—far more than the 10 percent of a state-regulated suretor’s surplus that’s allowed by New York law.
Lawyers for the attorney general’s office also noted that the insurance company was trying to operate “without a certificate of qualification” in the state.
…
Shah also claimed that his company had more than $1 billion in equity, despite financial statements—which were only obtained after New York court clerks rejected the company’s original bond posting and ordered it to refile—indicated the firm only held $26 million in “cash and bank deposits,” with $483 million in stocks and bonds.
James’ office has given Trump and his new financial bedfellows 10 days to “justify the surety.” “At this venture, with so much at stake, to make these kinds of mistakes, it’s almost unthinkable. And it amps it up with the missing financial statement. That adds all the drama,” an attorney for Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer, told The Daily Beast.
…more…
That Guy Who Backed Trump's Bond? He May Not Have the Money
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/that-guy-who-backed-trump-s-bond-he-may-not-have-the-money/ar-BB1l5FVhThat Guy Who Backed Trump’s Bond? He May Not Have the Money
Story by Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling
In a court filing on Thursday, Knight Speciality Insurance Company revealed that its liquid assets don’t meet the needs of Trump’s already minimized bond. According to a financial assessment, the company, owned by billionaire Don Hankey, has just $138 million in “surplus.” Knight would therefore need to spend 127 percent of its reserves in order to cover Trump’s bond—far more than the 10 percent of a state-regulated suretor’s surplus that’s allowed by New York law.
Lawyers for the attorney general’s office also noted that the insurance company was trying to operate “without a certificate of qualification” in the state.
…
Shah also claimed that his company had more than $1 billion in equity, despite financial statements—which were only obtained after New York court clerks rejected the company’s original bond posting and ordered it to refile—indicated the firm only held $26 million in “cash and bank deposits,” with $483 million in stocks and bonds.
James’ office has given Trump and his new financial bedfellows 10 days to “justify the surety.” “At this venture, with so much at stake, to make these kinds of mistakes, it’s almost unthinkable. And it amps it up with the missing financial statement. That adds all the drama,” an attorney for Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer, told The Daily Beast.
…more…
April 4, 2024
Alabama Republicans Try to 'Criminalize Librarians Simply for Doing Their Jobs'
"Not only is this wrong, it's also unconstitutional. You are not protecting children; you are protecting extremists who are trying to dismantle the very foundations of my country."
JESSICA CORBETT
Apr 03, 2024
The Alabama Library Association and other critics on Wednesday called out the state's Republican policymakers for pushing a new bill that opponents warn will unfairly jail librarians and have a chilling impact on collections. House Bill 385, introduced Tuesday by state Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-43) and 30 other legislators, says that "under existing law, certain obscenity laws do not apply to public libraries, public school libraries, college libraries, or university libraries, or the employees or agents of any such libraries."
"This bill would provide that these criminal obscenity laws do not apply to college or university libraries or their employees or agents, but do apply to public libraries, public school libraries, and their employees or agents," the legislation continues.
H.B. 385 would also add the following language to the definition of sexual conduct: "Any sexual or gender-oriented material that knowingly exposes minors to persons who are dressed in sexually revealing, exaggerated, or provocative clothing or costumes, or are stripping, or engaged in lewd or lascivious dancing, presentations, or activities in K-12 public schools, public libraries, and other public places where minors are expected and are known to be present without parental consent."
…
"Under H.B. 385, public and school librarians could be penalized or even arrested by prosecutors eager to follow the demands of Alabama Republican Chair John Wahl, an Alabama Public Library Service Board member, who's willing to jail librarians for having books he considers unacceptable," Layne said. "This bill is government overreach, robs parents of their rights, and would have a chilling effect on free speech by potentially incarcerating librarians because particular books are available, including even the Bible."
…more…
(He went there: even the Bible.)
Alabama Republicans Try to 'Criminalize Librarians Simply for Doing Their Jobs'
https://www.commondreams.org/news/alabama-libraryAlabama Republicans Try to 'Criminalize Librarians Simply for Doing Their Jobs'
"Not only is this wrong, it's also unconstitutional. You are not protecting children; you are protecting extremists who are trying to dismantle the very foundations of my country."
JESSICA CORBETT
Apr 03, 2024
The Alabama Library Association and other critics on Wednesday called out the state's Republican policymakers for pushing a new bill that opponents warn will unfairly jail librarians and have a chilling impact on collections. House Bill 385, introduced Tuesday by state Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-43) and 30 other legislators, says that "under existing law, certain obscenity laws do not apply to public libraries, public school libraries, college libraries, or university libraries, or the employees or agents of any such libraries."
"This bill would provide that these criminal obscenity laws do not apply to college or university libraries or their employees or agents, but do apply to public libraries, public school libraries, and their employees or agents," the legislation continues.
H.B. 385 would also add the following language to the definition of sexual conduct: "Any sexual or gender-oriented material that knowingly exposes minors to persons who are dressed in sexually revealing, exaggerated, or provocative clothing or costumes, or are stripping, or engaged in lewd or lascivious dancing, presentations, or activities in K-12 public schools, public libraries, and other public places where minors are expected and are known to be present without parental consent."
…
"Under H.B. 385, public and school librarians could be penalized or even arrested by prosecutors eager to follow the demands of Alabama Republican Chair John Wahl, an Alabama Public Library Service Board member, who's willing to jail librarians for having books he considers unacceptable," Layne said. "This bill is government overreach, robs parents of their rights, and would have a chilling effect on free speech by potentially incarcerating librarians because particular books are available, including even the Bible."
…more…
(He went there: even the Bible.)
April 4, 2024
Rift within Georgia GOP intensifies as vice chair refuses to resign for voting illegally
Carl GibsonApril 03, 2024
Georgia Republican Party vice chairman Brian Pritchard is steadfastly refusing calls to resign from his post despite a finding that he illegally voted nine times.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported Wednesday that Georgia GOP chairman Josh McKoon asked Pritchard to step down as the party's #2 official following a judge's administrative ruling that he voted nine times since 2008 despite being on probation for felony check forgery. While Pritchard won't be jailed for the offense, he was fined $5,000 and will face an unspecified "reprimand," according to the AJC. However, Pritchard has yet to resign, and indicated he plans to stay in his position.
…more…
(Looking for voter fraud? Here ya go.)
Georgia GOP intensifies as vice chair refuses to resign for voting illegally (Nine times)
https://www.alternet.org/georgia-gop-vice-chair/Rift within Georgia GOP intensifies as vice chair refuses to resign for voting illegally
Carl GibsonApril 03, 2024
Georgia Republican Party vice chairman Brian Pritchard is steadfastly refusing calls to resign from his post despite a finding that he illegally voted nine times.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported Wednesday that Georgia GOP chairman Josh McKoon asked Pritchard to step down as the party's #2 official following a judge's administrative ruling that he voted nine times since 2008 despite being on probation for felony check forgery. While Pritchard won't be jailed for the offense, he was fined $5,000 and will face an unspecified "reprimand," according to the AJC. However, Pritchard has yet to resign, and indicated he plans to stay in his position.
…more…
(Looking for voter fraud? Here ya go.)
April 4, 2024
Chem trail bill and Sasquatch amendment
Missed this previously:
…
Rep. John Ray Clemmons, a Democrat, poked fun at the bill, attaching an amendment that mimicked its original language but suggested that geoengineering “may threaten the Sasquatch and its natural habitat.” His amendment failed.
…
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/tennessee-lawmakers-ban-geoengineering-allusions-chemtrails-rcna145015
April 4, 2024
As heard on Thom Hartmann, caller listed
the organizations being targeted and cleared from Gaza.
Doctors Without Borders
World food kitchen
UN
Al Jazeera
Others?
Caller suggested Israel does not want witnesses.
Your thoughts?
Repost from previous forum. Link required.
https://www.thomhartmann.com
Thom Hartmann - News & info from the #1 progressive radio show | News ...
Thom Hartmann is a popular radio host, author, and commentator on politics, culture, and society. Learn more about his show, books
April 3, 2024
‘I wanted to end my life’: ‘Bookseller of Kabul’ rebuilds destroyed business
Shah Muhammad Rais was devastated when Taliban destroyed his shop, but now he is sending books to Afghanistan via the internet
Diane Taylor
Wed 3 Apr 2024 06.35 EDT
Shah Muhammad Rais first opened his bookshop in the Afghan capital in 1974. By 2003, when his story was made famous by the bestselling book The Bookseller of Kabul, the business had collected about 100,000 books, in different languages, about literature, history and politics. The collection included works of fiction and nonfiction, with everything from richly illustrated children’s tales to dense academic tomes.
After the Taliban stormed Kabul in 2021, Rais fled to the UK, telling the Guardian last year that he feared the group would destroy his cherished business. His fears came true. Last December, the Taliban turned up at the bookshop, locked the doors and ordered the employees to hand over all the passwords for Rais’s website and catalogue, before destroying the archive he had been building since he first opened the shop.
“When I heard what had happened I couldn’t talk, I was frozen. My mind was not working,” said Rais, who is now almost blind. He was so grief-stricken that he considered taking his own life. “For two weeks after this happened I wanted to end my life. But suddenly I got my energy back,” he said. He resolved to rebuild his unique collection from scratch. Because his online business was global, he already had many contacts in countries such as Iran and Pakistan and across central Asia. Rais, who speaks six languages, signed a deal with an Indian IT company to create a new website – Indo Aryana Book Co.
Now new books are being printed in India from pdfs and mailed into Afghanistan. Recently an online order was placed by someone in Mexico to deliver a copy of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry to an address in Kabul. The book is banned in Afghanistan, but the order was placed in the morning and had been delivered to the Kabul address by the afternoon. Rais is especially keen to help give girls and women in Afghanistan access to books despite the Taliban ban on their education. He is using his contacts to get free or subsidised books to them in their homes or hidden schools. Even bus drivers help: secreting in their vehicles packages of books needing to be delivered discreetly, while driving across Afghanistan.
…more…
Overcoming book bans: Bookseller of Kabul' rebuilds destroyed business
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/03/i-wanted-to-end-my-life-bookseller-of-kabul-rebuilds-destroyed-business‘I wanted to end my life’: ‘Bookseller of Kabul’ rebuilds destroyed business
Shah Muhammad Rais was devastated when Taliban destroyed his shop, but now he is sending books to Afghanistan via the internet
Diane Taylor
Wed 3 Apr 2024 06.35 EDT
Shah Muhammad Rais first opened his bookshop in the Afghan capital in 1974. By 2003, when his story was made famous by the bestselling book The Bookseller of Kabul, the business had collected about 100,000 books, in different languages, about literature, history and politics. The collection included works of fiction and nonfiction, with everything from richly illustrated children’s tales to dense academic tomes.
After the Taliban stormed Kabul in 2021, Rais fled to the UK, telling the Guardian last year that he feared the group would destroy his cherished business. His fears came true. Last December, the Taliban turned up at the bookshop, locked the doors and ordered the employees to hand over all the passwords for Rais’s website and catalogue, before destroying the archive he had been building since he first opened the shop.
“When I heard what had happened I couldn’t talk, I was frozen. My mind was not working,” said Rais, who is now almost blind. He was so grief-stricken that he considered taking his own life. “For two weeks after this happened I wanted to end my life. But suddenly I got my energy back,” he said. He resolved to rebuild his unique collection from scratch. Because his online business was global, he already had many contacts in countries such as Iran and Pakistan and across central Asia. Rais, who speaks six languages, signed a deal with an Indian IT company to create a new website – Indo Aryana Book Co.
Now new books are being printed in India from pdfs and mailed into Afghanistan. Recently an online order was placed by someone in Mexico to deliver a copy of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry to an address in Kabul. The book is banned in Afghanistan, but the order was placed in the morning and had been delivered to the Kabul address by the afternoon. Rais is especially keen to help give girls and women in Afghanistan access to books despite the Taliban ban on their education. He is using his contacts to get free or subsidised books to them in their homes or hidden schools. Even bus drivers help: secreting in their vehicles packages of books needing to be delivered discreetly, while driving across Afghanistan.
…more…
April 3, 2024
Moon Standard Time? Nasa to create lunar-centric time reference system
Space agency tasked with establishing Coordinated Lunar Time, partly to aid missions requiring extreme precision
Diana Ramirez-Simon and agencies
Tue 2 Apr 2024 20.57 EDT
The White House wants Nasa to figure out how to tell time on the moon.
A memo sent on Tuesday from the head of the US Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has asked the space agency to work with other US agencies and international agencies to establish a moon-centric time reference system. Nasa has until the end of 2026 to set up what is being called Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC).
It’s not quite a time zone like those on Earth, but an entire frame of time reference for the moon. Because there’s less gravity on the moon, time there moves a tad more quickly – 58.7 microseconds every day – compared with on Earth. Among other things, LTC would provide a time-keeping benchmark for lunar spacecraft and satellites that require extreme precision for their missions.
“An atomic clock on the moon will tick at a different rate than a clock on Earth,” said Kevin Coggins, Nasa’s top communications and navigation official. “It makes sense that when you go to another body, like the moon or Mars, that each one gets its own heartbeat.”
…more…
Moon Standard Time? Nasa to create lunar-centric time reference system
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/apr/02/moon-nasa-coordinated-lunar-timeMoon Standard Time? Nasa to create lunar-centric time reference system
Space agency tasked with establishing Coordinated Lunar Time, partly to aid missions requiring extreme precision
Diana Ramirez-Simon and agencies
Tue 2 Apr 2024 20.57 EDT
The White House wants Nasa to figure out how to tell time on the moon.
A memo sent on Tuesday from the head of the US Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has asked the space agency to work with other US agencies and international agencies to establish a moon-centric time reference system. Nasa has until the end of 2026 to set up what is being called Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC).
It’s not quite a time zone like those on Earth, but an entire frame of time reference for the moon. Because there’s less gravity on the moon, time there moves a tad more quickly – 58.7 microseconds every day – compared with on Earth. Among other things, LTC would provide a time-keeping benchmark for lunar spacecraft and satellites that require extreme precision for their missions.
“An atomic clock on the moon will tick at a different rate than a clock on Earth,” said Kevin Coggins, Nasa’s top communications and navigation official. “It makes sense that when you go to another body, like the moon or Mars, that each one gets its own heartbeat.”
…more…
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