'Dangerous' computer worm no cause for alarm, experts say

Fears of a Conficker Meltdown Greatly Exaggerated

April Fool's Conficker Threat is Likely Hype

Oh wait...

Parliament hit by Conficker virus

If it's no big deal, then why has Microsoft put out a $250,000 bounty on the writers of the virus?

A special thanks to every person that calls themselves a geek who tells people not to worry about Conficker.C. There are too many Windows users who will be lulled into complacency if they think that this won't affect them.

If you run Windows and your system is not current on security packs and patches or you don't have current antivirus, do so now. This virus is "no cause for alarm" ONLY if you have secured your computer. This is not a myth.

If you haven't done so, it's no different than hiring a $5 hooker and skipping the raincoat.

Oh man, it just keeps getting better:

Search for 'Conficker' Could Lure Virus

Symantec is warning Web users that searching for information on computer viruses such as Conficker could put them at risk of unintentionally downloading the virus on to their PC.

Do I expect Armageddon? No. Do I expect to spend 4/1 wishing I had gone into horticulture? Probably, but only because some people should just not be allowed to own a computer.

And for all you Mac users, keep it to yourself. If all the stupid Windows users went out and bought Macs, and Apple had more than 10% of the market share, then the hackers and script kiddies would set their sights on you guys.

~Code Monkey

I've gotten a few emails and even seen on some of the other nuttier sites I read about the sudden flood of gun grabbing and registration supposedly going on at major military installations.

The first was a supposed email from a "worried" SF NCO, who was told he had to keep all his weapons stored in the unit arms room. Then a "worried" soldier at Fort Campbell, who is going round the bend because he's been told to register his weapons, identify where they are kept, and tell whether he has a CCW and what state it is issued in.

Be advised, the sky is not falling, and this is OLD news to anyone who's been in the Military longer than a day.

Most military bases have a policy wherein you must store privately owned weapons (firearms, bows, hunting knives, etc.) in the unit arms room if you live in the barracks (as most young, single soldiers do.) It's a proven fact that the barracks are generally populated by young, testosterone filled teenagers and twenty-somethings, many of whom spend their off time boozing and chasing tail (I speak from personal experience as a young cavalryman.) This doesn't apply to all service members living in barracks, but to many.

• Many bases have problems with both gang and drug-related activity (Methamphetamine, Pot, and Ecstasy in particular.)
• Weapons (and most other things) in a communal environment are sometimes stolen.
• Unit commanders are responsible for EVERYTHING that happens in their barracks.

Some quick terminology:

• Barracks--where unmarried enlisted soldiers are housed.
• BOQ: Where unmarried officers are housed, if they don't live off post.
• Family Housing (aka quarters)-where married soldiers and their families live, on base, if they are available.
• Off-Base housing-where married soldiers and their families live when on-base family housing is not available.

All members living on post in government quarters (as I sometimes do, depending on duty station and availability) are required to register their firearms with the provost marshal. It’s been this way ever since I was a kid (at least).

Upon arrival at their duty station, until they register their weapons, they must store them in the unit arms room. I’VE DONE THIS MYSELF. Registration takes all of five minutes. They never even need to see the weapons, you just list the make/model and sn. There is no limit on the # you may own, nobody comes by to inspect.

While I am 100% against gun registration, I realize that

a) it’s a federal installation,

b) the commanding general makes the rules on base, and

c) it’s a privilege to live on base. If I don’t like it, I can live off base. As for living off base and still being required to register firearms, the policy says I must, but they’ve no right to make me do so… if the weapons belong to a family member, not me. My dog is a VERY well armed Labrador retriever.

As for the Policy, the actual CGs policy at Fort Bliss, it's here.

MFR Amnesty for Failure to Register Privately Owned Firearms
And the Fort Campbell CG's policy for Barracks is here:
Fort Campbell Barracks Policy 19

Finally, there has been a rash of suicides lately in the Army, with the percentage of population exceeding that of the civilian world. Given that most servicemenbers are male, and males ae five times more successful in attmpts, and guns are REALLY effective at suicide, and our youngest soldiers are the ones most likely to make bad decisions, (including suicide), I think it is a GOOD idea for ther privately owned weapons to be kept in a safe place, an managed by an older, wiser adult. Unless you can show me a population of 18-24 year old kids who never make dumb decisions.

The current policy is posted on https://www.bliss.army.mil/bliss_home_files/cmdpolicy.html.

--Chuck

Just perusing Amazon's best seller list for Kindle books.  Some books of note, as of 7:55 pm Arizona time:

1. Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto by Mark R. Levin

3. The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World by by W. Cleon Skousen 

15. The Holy Bible English Standard Version (Kindle Edition)

20. COMMON SENSE (Kindle Edition) by Thomas Paine

25.  The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes

47.  Guilty: Liberal "Victims" and Their Assault on America by Ann Coulter 

60. The Federalist Papers (Signet Classics) by James Madison

67. The American Patriot's Almanac: Daily Readings on America by William J. Bennett

71. Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood by Donovan Campbell

75.  A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O'Reilly

76. The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life by Ben Sherwood 

79. Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change by Jonah Goldberg 

Can someone help me with this?

I need to know how many employees have been helped at the big 3 automakers, AIG, and by all the TARP fund handouts.

I am going to claim them as dependents on my taxes.

--Chuck

You would have been 62 today.

--Chuck

Did you know that of the 4440 words in the U.S. Constitution, "freedom" doesn't appear once?

To date, the house of representatives have introduced over 11,000 ammendments, of which 33 were sent to the states for ratification, and only 27 have been approved by the states to be included for amendments.

That means over 233 years, congress averaged introducing 47 amendments per year, with a success rate of 0.2%.

And they get a pension for life after only a single term.

Labels: fraud waste and abuse

One of the interesting things about Heller v. DC is that the Court, in passing, found there was no problem in requiring that an individual right secured by the Constitution be subjected to a permitting process before being exercised.

So, in light of this ruling, I am asking every politician in the Congress to please introduce the following:

The Journalism Licensing and Record of Publishing Act of 2009 is introduced to amend the First Amendment by prescribing stringent requirements for license applications, issuance, and renewals. It prohibits a person from publishing an article unless they’ve been issued a license under the new Act, and forces journalists to report directly to the Attorney General regarding plagiarism or change of address. Every five years, journalists have to go through the complete renewal process for each article they publish, and failure to do so authorizes government searches without warrant.

Citizens for free speech will be up in arms about this bill, considering it a direct violation of their first amendment rights. But the bill does not violate our right to publish articles; it just makes it harder to do so — which isn’t that bad of an idea. Making articles more difficult to publish may just be the remedy to controversial writing this country needs.

Does this sound ridiculous?

Does this:
Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm unless that person has been issued a firearm license under this Act or a state system certified under this Act and such license has not been invalidated or revoked. Prescribes license application, issuance, and renewal requirements.
Prohibits transferring or receiving a qualifying firearm unless the recipient presents a valid firearms license, the license is verified, and the dealer records a tracking authorization number. Prescribes firearms transfer reporting and record keeping requirements. Directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain a federal record of sale system.
Prohibits: (1) transferring a firearm to any person other than a licensee, unless the transfer is processed through a licensed dealer in accordance with national instant criminal background check system requirements, with exceptions; (2) a licensed manufacturer or dealer from failing to comply with reporting and record keeping requirements of this Act; (3) failing to report the loss or theft of the firearm to the Attorney General within 72 hours; (4) failing to report to the Attorney General an address change within 60 days; or (5) keeping a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm, knowingly or recklessly disregarding the risk that a child is capable of gaining access, if a child uses the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury.
Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of firearms provisions covered by this Act.
Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish and maintain a firearm injury information clearinghouse; (2) conduct continuing studies and investigations of firearm-related deaths and injuries; and (3) collect and maintain current production and sales figures of each licensed manufacturer.
Authorizes the Attorney General to certify state firearm licensing or record of sale systems.

If we're going to place restrictions on rights, lets go by the numbers and start with the first amendment.
--Chuck

Sgt. Christopher P. Abeyta, 23, of Midlothian, Illinois, was killed last week while serving in Afghanistan. Sgt. Abeyta and two other soldiers who were with him, Sgt. Robert M. Weinger and Spc. Norman Cain III, were also killed when the vehicle they were riding in was struck by an IED.

Sgt. Abeyta ran a military blog from Afghanistan called The Chronicles of Butters! and according to a news story Sgt. Abeyta had kept a journal since he was 11-years old...

The SouthtownStar story also shares his passion for writing:

"While deployed, he wrote entries in his ever-present journal, stories on two blogs and letters to his family. His mother held tightly Tuesday to one from November, which she read aloud on her back patio, demanding that his grandmother, Elvira Abeyta, and local veterans gathered around her know the man she raised.

"I know you don't enjoy the path I have chosen for myself but trust me it's so very rewarding," she read. "You know I know it bothers you that I am here. ... but what kind of person would I be, Ma, if I didn't try to make this better.

"OK?" she said at the end. "That's my son."

______________________________

"The Abeyta family has requested donations be made to a fund for the family of Spc. Norman Cain III, 22, who died with Abeyta in the same explosion and left behind a wife and two children..."

MORE DETAILS SOON-


Illinois National Guard Sgt. Christopher Abeyta will return home Thursday.

Abeyta, 23, was killed by an explosion March 15 in Afghanistan.

His body will be flown to Midway Airport and driven through his hometown on the way to Hickey Memorial Chapel, 4201 W. 147th St., Midlothian. His wake will be from 2 to 9 p.m. March 27 at the funeral home.

A funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. March 28 at St. Christopher Catholic Church, 4130 W. 147th St., Midlothian, followed by a procession to Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery near Elwood.

A small ceremony for the public will precede a private burial.

Midlothian soldier coming home

I'll bet that the minute Chuck sees this new toy at ThinkGeek.com it'll be on his wish list too...

~Code Monkey

Graham sent me a picture of a truck accessory he thought I'd get a kick out of.

Graham knows me too well. I bought it within 10 minutes of seeing it.

Available from GG & G.

Hat tip, Greta.

Adam (www.defendersown.com/community/saveavet), has graciously offered to host an online PTSD support group here in the Defender's Own chat room. Through his PTSD support organization, Save a Vet (www.saveavet.com), Adam is helping active personnel, veterans, and their loved ones understand PTSD, as well as treat it through innovative means. We have had one online support group to date, and it was a tremendous success. If you or anyone you love might be suffering from PTSD, please do join us to get answers to any and all questions that you might have, this is a critically important topic that cannot be procrastinated.

The online support group will be held here in the Defender's Own chat room on Monday and Tuesday evening's beginning at 8PM CST. They will be held in the "PTSD Support" room. In order to get there, login to your Defender's Own account, click on the "Chat" link in the upper right hand corner of your screen, and then look in the "All Rooms" box for the "PTSD Support" room. Then, click on the "PTSD Support" room link.

I hope that if you or someone you love is dealing with PTSD, you will come and get answers. The group is very kind and welcoming, so please do not wait. I know it is a very stressful topic, but it is important to get as much information as possible before it is too late.

A few new features have been added to the blog.  (I have to make a note of them on the blog or else they're "undocumented features."  Sorry, geek humor, couldn't resist.)

If you check the newly renamed and improved "Follow me" section in the sidebar, there are some new icons:~Code Monkey

Labels: Tech Notes

see more Funny Graphs

-Code Monkey

so, the last surgery dinna work. I had a do-over this morning, now sitting @ home, baked on vicodin. left my headset @ work, thus no dragon. this is either #36 or 37, I've lost count.

much pain, moreso than last time.

--chuck

U.S. Army Sgt. Stephen Covell, a native of Pacific Grove, Calif., along with an Iraqi girl go down a slide at the playground during the reopening of the Al-Moutasam Kindergarten March 3, 2009, in the Rusafa district of eastern Baghdad. Covell is a medic assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Multi-National Division-Baghdad.

U.S. Army photo by Georges Aboumrad

Matt posted the original, I just stole his work.

Hey, folks, the 2009 Military Blog Conference registration is open. Hotel rooms are going fast, too, so make sure to reserve one (with the discount for the conference). Carren and I will not be attending this year, although we may be able to pop in for a drink or thirty during the evening. I'm riding in the Face of America bike ride, which is unfortunately the same weekend. Laughingwolf from Blackfive is riding too, as is the first soldiersangel I ever met, Kathleen.

Some details:

April 24-25th

- It's in DC this year. All events are at the Westin Arlington Gateway (where the rooms are being held).
- The opening cocktail reception will have a charity theme to it so you can have refreshment and help raise money for a good cause. (And it will be really fun!)
- The panels are still being formed but look to be different from years past.
- There is a field trip on Sunday to visit some historic tanks. (Again, I really wish I could be there.)

Go here to reserve your seat for the conference.

Go here to reserve your room with the Milblog discount.

Labels: Fun, Interesting, Soldier's Angels, Support the troops and their mission

I found out last night that one of my very first mentors from when I was but a young shave-tail 2LT had died from a heart attack. 1SG Bill Magaw, affectionately named "Buzzsaw" for his charming personality, (once you got to know him, he was a huge-hearted man who cared deeply for others) but on the outside, was the mold from which all other noncommissioned officers should be judged.

Bill was tough, so tough that many a private, sergeant, lieutenant and captain would hear his tirades and walk the other way--even if they weren't in the same building. To catch the force of one of his legendary ass chewings head-on was enough to cause a few privates to go AWOL. I had the distinct pleasure of serving with him as a tank platoon leader, he was the platoon sergeant for my Daughter's Godfather, and taught the both of us more about tanking, leading, and soldiering than could ever be captured in a manual.

Buzzsaw was one of the truly great leaders. On his best day, Clint Eastwood's "Gunny Highway" was a pale comparison. Top Magaw was completely unafraid to identify when anyone was fucked up, including company and battalion commanders, and would tell them so--and if the situation warranted it, would do so publicly. I think the most amazing thing about that was that he never got in trouble for it, and it was because he was right, not just in his facts, but in the necessity of being near-insubordinate.

Buzzsaw was as old-school as they come. While the rest of the Army was warming up to blackberrys, pdas, computes, powerpoint, and the whole host of electronic playthings, Buzzsaw had his green cloth bound notebook, and a carpenter's pencil sharpened with his pocket knife. Everything he did was pure common sense. Why a notebook and carpenter's pencil? Carpenter's pencils are flat, so they don't roll off the tank. The lead is soft, so it writes darker. It works when wet. It doesn't leak. Writes upside down, over grease, in the heat and in the cold. Notebooks work without batteries, and are impervious to sand, and will work after getting wet. Both fit in a pocket, and neither costs more than a dollar. Even his writing was simple: Large, block letters, that some would see as primitive handwriting skill, but he wrote that way from practice. His notes were easy to read, regardless of how tired you were, and nobody ever had to think "What does this scribble say?" Buzzsaw was one of the few whom I would gladly go to battle with, and if I had my choices, I'd have follwed him, vs. him following me.

1SG (ret.) William "Bill" Magaw, 53, died Thursday, Feb. 26, at Winn Army Community Hospital on Fort Stewart.

He was born in Akron, Ohio, to the late John A. and Wanda L. Hambree Magaw. Bill graduated from Akron Garfield High School and attended the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. On Aug. 8, 1980, he was married to Jean V. McDonald. To this union, two children were born. Bill enlisted into the U.S. Army and served his country proudly for 26 years. He served honorably in Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Kosovo, Korea, Germany and several stateside locations.
Those left to cherish his memory include his wife for 28-1/2 years, Jean V. Magaw; two children, Erin and Joshua Magaw, all of Hinesville; three brothers, Michael, Russell and Matthew Magaw; a sister, Karen Magaw; a host of nieces, nephews and other family members; many dear friends kept along the way; and last, but not least, the many soldiers he has mentored during his career.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Powerhouse of Deliverance Church on Airport Road in Hinesville.
Visitation in Ohio will be from 6-8 p.m. Thursday at Schlup-Pucak Funeral Home, 788 Kenmore Blvd., Akron. The funeral service will be 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home.
Interment with full military honors will be in Northlawn Memorial Gardens, 4724 State Road in Peninsula, Ohio.
Dorchester Funeral Home of Midway has charge of local arrangements.

Halfway down the trail to Hell,
In a shady meadow green
Are the Souls of all dead troopers camped,
Near a good old-time canteen.
And this eternal resting place
Is known as Fiddlers' Green.

Marching past, straight through to Hell
The Infantry are seen.
Accompanied by the Engineers,
Artillery and Marines,
For none but the shades of Cavalrymen
Dismount at Fiddlers' Green.

Though some go curving down the trail
To seek a warmer scene.
No trooper ever gets to Hell
Ere he's emptied his canteen.
And so rides back to drink again
With friends at Fiddlers' Green.

And so when man and horse go down
Beneath a saber keen,
Or in a roaring charge of fierce melee
You stop a bullet clean,
And the hostiles come to get your scalp,
Just empty your canteen,
And put your pistol to your head
And go to Fiddlers' Green.

Labels: Damn

My definition of social justice: those who refuse to work deserve to go hungry.

Clayton Cramer
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/clayton_cramer/

We're going to play fill in the blank. Ok, here we go:

I am passing this on to you, not because it is an attempt to raise money for Soldiers’ Angels, but because it is an example of the caliber of person that is our United States Military. This link is to a website AfghanistanShrugged. It is written by a soldier, call sign Vampire 6, who is currently deployed at a very remote FOB in Afghanistan. He is a Team Chief for an embedded training team and is on the front lines fighting the fight everyday. Through a joint project between Soldiers’ Angels and Web of Support we have been able to provide support to Vampire 6 and his team.

Rather than just accepting support, Vampire 6 and his team have decided to “pay it forward”. They have recently purchased Unit t-shirts and have convinced the t-shirt designer to donate $5.00 of every t-shirt sold to Soldiers’ Angels. Upon learning of this I asked Vampire 6 if there were any special items that his team could use with the money collected. His answer was no and he stated “just thought we could help you guys out with some additional monies to help those that deploy after us.” The story is on his blog here. “Paying it Forward” while still in the thick of it - impressive.

Honor Their Service, inc., the home of such great projects as Operation Fresh Air and Operation Santa at the Hospitals, is putting together a Milbloggers' Cookbook. They need submissions from milbloggers and commenters alike in all catagories (appetizers, sides, salads, soups, main dishes, desserts, drinks, etc.) If you have a recipe (or two) that you are particularly proud of, they'd love to put them in the book.
Send your recipes (and any questions you might have) to HTScookbook@yahoo.com.
They are accepting recipes from today until March 9th.

(I know, it's only five days away, but I've been on my ass posting this. cc: tcoverride@gmail.com with your recipes if you'd like them printed here, too.)

if you understand the mathematics concepts in the video below, you will finally be able to understand the current administration's thinking that you can spend trillions of dollars of money you don't have, and your debts will go away, and the economy will get better.

It's funny. Got a hard chuckle at the very end.

Seriously, this is the kind of stuff we should expect from the people who teach our children about how mankind causes global warmening, the fact of evolution (not that it is an unproven theory, but the accepted fact), that different religions and beliefs should be accepted (unless that belief is Judeo-Christian) and that diversity is more important than unity.




--Chuck