MP3 player harbering top secret data!

I watched a particular segment on CNN about a man in New Zealand who'd purchased a used MP3 player at a thrift store. But later he discovered that the player held top secret information including lists of soldiers and pertinent contact information. Also, it appears they may have been plans on the player that date to 2005.

I should not have to ask what makes this startling. There's plenty! Like how did such a breach even occur? Government servers probably log whenever a file is copied. If the copy was authorized then what the hell was it doing on an MP3 player? If they were unauthorized... well, there are plenty more questions that need asking like how did they not track it down? Who did this? And if they didn't know?!?! sigh....

Its too much ask the people whose job is our security to bother with security it seems. But I will wait until this turns into nothing and forget about it like a Good Stupid Fox watching idiot. Alas, I'm not. Sorry.

Anyways...

President Obama met with House Republicans today behind closed doors. The President's $825M stimulus plan is now the Republicans are now calling it theirs. They claim the problem is the Democrats who are drifting from the President's original plan. There are things the Democrats pulled out of the plan such as a plan to pay for contraceptives and help for the Middle Class. John Boehner does not need to fear that women who could not afford birth control let alone the children they might have will be getting pills to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

I think as much as it sounds like the GOP are in bed with Obama, I'm thinking this is political chess. Eventually they will build a plan that resembles little to nothing that Obama initially presented to Congress. Then they'll vote it down! And it seems the bipartisan President may have sacrificed his own majority for the sake a lukewarm Republican pool?

Also, I have to comment on Obama's first formal interview. It was on al-Arabiya if you haven't heard. He has I think made a huge positive move. Here's why. Terrorists are political actors albeit non-state actors but so are Churches and Greenpeace. The War on Terror as it were actually legitimizes the terrorists. We sank to their level by taking the war to them. Again, sacrificing our principles is always a losing tactic. By going to the Saudi based network and doing a cordial and well spoken interview sends an important message to the Middle East. The USA is going to treat the sovereign nations of the world as just that. We cannot, should not and shouldn't have sunk to their level, which is what the invasion of Iraq was: State sanctioned Terrorism.

Author John Updike passed away. I would have said died but saying John Updike died is awkward. John Updike won the Pulitzer Prize Rabbit twice with Rich and Rabbit at Rest published in 1981 and 1990 respectively. He was the "chronicler of suburban adultery". He passed today at Beverly Farms, Massachesetts.

Personal Notes: I'm debating some changes to this blog such as adding podcasts and thereby putting more into the podcasts and posting links on the page. I started this blog in reaction to then President Bush's second term and my rising ire towards it. I'm thinking of changing the bland conservative look of this site that doesn't change. Stay Tuned!

More People walking Free

If you don't follow the news and are unaware of two journalists that were kidnapped in Gaza two weeks ago, you have now been informed. Fox News journalists Steve Centanni, of the US, and Olaf Wiig, of New Zealand, have been released just after the deadline their captors set for releasing detainess in Guantanamo Bay (or as we in the Navy called it, Gitmo). They were dropped off at Beach-Front hotel in Gaza after being held by the relatively unknown Holy Jihad Brigades (I'd link them but there isn't a good link about them to be found). The two were forced to convert to Islam and gunpoint but were unharmed during their captivity. They're happy to be free and American Steve Centanni stated "I hope that this never scares a single journalist away from coming to Gaza to cover the story because the Palestinian people are very beautiful and kind hearted". I'm glad that turned out all right since so often things in the Middle East do not.

Latvia: Making snacking safe for schoolkids one school at a time. Well, not really one school at a time but you get the picture. Latvia's government made the decision earlier this week to ban the nutritionally poor snacks from schools because they set bad examples. It may imply that junk food is endorsed by authorities which it is not. Elsewhere, reports in Britain estimate the 1/3 of all British men will be obese by 2010. Here in the US Madeleine Albright, the former Secretary of State, has been pleading with fizzy liquid maker Coca-Cola over regulation. Even Bill Clinton is in one this with his Healthier Generation. All I can say is I could've used them when I had to sit around after school for activities and all to be gotten were zebra cakes and Dr. Pepper.

Local news for me: We had tornadoes in this here state! On thursday a line of very intense storms wreaked havoc in the Southern portion of the state affecting places like Cleveland, Nicollett and Northfield. There was one fatality: Thomas O'Brien, 90, passed away after a tree struck his home at Lake Emily. Several tornadoes were sighted including a multi-vortex tornado. Hail was reported at grapefruit size. I've even heard there may have been softball sized hail. Local Weather guy and geek Paul Douglas runs a blog (look for August 25) on TV station WCCO. It must be read. We have had little severe weather, let alone rain, this summer so I guess this made up for it. We got hammered here!

Video to the above story can be found here and here.

A plane crashed in Kentucky at 0619 EDT today. There were 46 passengers, an off-duty crew member and three crew members. At this time there is one survivor. Delta flight 5191 crashed a mile from the runway just after taking off at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington and currently there is some speculation that it took off from the wrong runway which would have been too short. The lone survivor is crew member and first officer James M. Polehinke. Please pray for his survival as he remains in surgery and in critical condition. Please pray for the souls of the 49 aboard who perished in the crash. Turn to CNN, the BBC, MSNBC, CBS or even the Scotsman for more on this developing story.