Obstinate NATO Allies

The obstinacy of Germany, along with France, Turkey, and Italy, knows few bounds. As the U.S. and its coalition partners bear the brunt of fighting in Afghanistan, the NATO partners refuse to seriously commit themselves to initiatives in Afghanistan. These four countries will not send significant number of troops to the southern front lines. Troops from Canada, Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States are committed and seek support from their reluctant NATO cohorts. These nations criticize the U.S. for going it alone but they certainly have their opportunity to become more greatly involved in the fighting. They are not helping though. The U.S. shares a heavy load in the resurgence of Taliban violence with support from Denmark, Romania, Estonia, and non-NATO nation Australia.

New and Improved Al-Qaeda Encryption Tool

I had commented before on a new al-Qaeda encryption tool but now security researchers have had more time to analyze the piece, they have troublesome news.

The updated encryption tool improves on a first version, is well-written, and is an easily portable piece of code.

The messages that are encrypted using the tool, Mujahideen Secrets 2, should be relatively easy to spot and track, according to Paul Henry, vice president of technology evangelism at Secure Computing Corporation.

I disagree that this should be handled by law enforcement, though most counter-terrorism is, but it is better than no tracing at all.

The files can be identified because it puts a unique fingerprint on them. "You may not be able to read the messages, but you will be able to figure out where it was sent from and to whom," Henry stated.

Mujahideen Secrets 2 was released last month via an Arabic-language Web site set up by an Islamic forum called al-Ekhlaas. The two servers it was available on, from a Web hosting firm in Tampa, Fla., and previously on a system owned by another company in Rochester, Minnesota, both have ceased working.

The al-Ekhlaas site had been moved to a server based in Phoenix but the link to the site on that server also is broken.

Mujahideen Secrets 2 is sophisticated software, from an encryption perspective, in that the new tool is easy to use and provides 2,048-bit encryption, an improvement over the 256-bit AES encryption supported in the original version. Moreover, even more interesting is the ability to encrypt Yahoo and MSN chat messages in addition to e-mails.

Not surprisingly, I have noted my dismay with the ability to house terrorist sites, and use sites, all based in the U.S.

The tool also employs a more obscure manner of communication. The tool can take a binary file and encrypt it in such a way that the file can be posted in a pure ASCII or text-only format. What this means is that terrorists could use Mujahideen Secrets 2 to encrypt files and post them on sites that aren't on the Internet, for example, on a telephone-accessed bulletin board.

The portability of the tool is also impressive. The software can be loaded on a USB memory stick, then a person could employ an Internet cafe, plug in the USB device and run Mujahideen Secrets 2 to encrypt any communications from that cafe.

This would make it virtually impossible to track such an individual because the communication can be done so covertly and quickly.

The ease of use is improved in the new version, it has an improved GUI (Graphical User Interface) and the software appears to be easy to use by relatively low-level operators according to Henry. The tool and transmission of information allows relative novices to easily and surreptitiously access encrypted messages.

Note on Benjamin Barber, Jihad vs. McWorld

In Benjamin Barber's book, Jihad vs. McWorld: Terrorism's Challenge to Democracy, he presents an interesting interpretation of Jihad. He does not mean the typical Islamist struggle but he portrays, rather like Thomas Friedman's, The World is Flat, Jihad as a divisive impulse, as in Friedman's other work, The Lexus and the Olive Tree. Most people across the world need to decide which they favor, Jihad and the Olive Tree, or a Flat World with a Lexus. The choice is rather stark so Barber illustrates how American life is impoverished given as it is to rampant consumerism. Democracy and community and neighborhood involvement is at an all-time low so he points out how neighborhood and local initiatives must become engaged for democracy to work.

Women Urged to Jihad and Suicide Operations

Not only are mentally challenged women employed as suicide bombers but a host of women's forums on Islamist Websites are preparing women to carry out Jihad and suicide operations. Several of the Islamist websites include special forums for women which reveals that these forums encourage women to carry out suicide operations. Islamic history and the present is invoked to urge that women take an active part in jihad. They also promote jihad indoctrination from an early age and publicize the most radical sheikhs' fatwas on jihad and martyrdom.

The most active sites are sites: al-hesbah, shmo5alislam; and, al-faloja.

A typical example is: "How I Hoped to Turn My Body into Slivers to Tear the Sons of Zion to Pieces, and to Knock with Their Skulls on the Gates of Paradise."

Another typical Al-Hesbah subscriber entitled a message: "Secure Yourself a Chandelier under the Throne [in Paradise]," in which she encouraged Muslim women to carry out suicide bombings.

Cf. Memri.

Mentally Disabled Contribute to Iraq

I know there must be some sort of limit on the atrocities of the insane but news out of Iraq states that two mentally disabled women were strapped with explosives.

The women were sent into crowded Baghdad markets where they were blown up by remote control.

The bombs killed at least 98 people and wounded more than 200 during the holiest day of the week for Muslims.

The threat is real, the insurgents will use anything, and anyone to achieve their goal of de-stabalizing Iraq.

Vista Shrinks

How do you shrink a bloated 15GB Vista operating system? Dino Nuhagic, a fifth-year student from Split, Croatia answered with his own product, vLite.

The free program builds a selective installation of Vista components that strips the bloated OS which can be burned to a DVD.

Some vLite users stripped Vista into a package as an image file that was as small as 515MB and takes up just 1.4GB on the hard drive.

One report stated that condensing Windows Vista Home Basic into a 526MB .iso file and installing it in a virtual machine that used 1.3GB of drive space.

TSA Announces Blog

Under the banner: "Terrorists Evolve. Threats Evolve. Security Must Stay Ahead. You Play A Part," the (Transportation Security Administration (TSA) launched a new blog to get questions and feedback on airport security issues.

I have a question, what are the limitations, if any, on the attire of TSA inspectors. For example, can the TSA inspector wear a hijab?

The checkpoint personnel may seem pushy, we are all wondering how to adjust since as travelers we need to, as the Islamofascists seem to travel at will. I just wondered.

Hoover's Scoops Up Social Networking

Hoover's launches a professional networking tool so that goes to show you how business is learning from teenagers. Hoover's Connect can leverage Outlook contact lists to expand professional networks which is not significantly different than what the kids have been doing. An algorithm in the Connect tool evaluates the strength of the networking and rates them accordingly. In addition, users themselves can evaluate the potential for a particular networking opportunity based on their own Outlook contacts.

Not All Find Al-Qaida's Presence Comforting

The Iraqi tribal Chief Saban al-Bazoun asked al-Qaeda to go home and blow themselves up and to stop targeting Iraqis.

Video source: Memritv.

Philadelphia's Wi-Fi Network to Close?

Like most municipal plans nationwide, Philadelphia's Wi-Fi network may not happen but the City announced plans in that eventuality occurs. Philadelphia's CIO stated that there is a 75% chance that EarthLink Inc. will sell or abandon its network operation within a year.

Terry Phillis, Philadelphia's CIO, anticipated that the city will know more within 60 days about what EarthLink, the present network builder, will do regarding the Philadelphia plans. Either the City will take over the project, which is not really a good option, or, a sale of the Wi-Fi network may hand it over to another private network builder and operator.

The network is designed to close the digital divide and assist lower-income residents gain Internet access. Whether this happens or not is still up in the air. Those programs which seem to help those most in need don't always happen. `The best laid plans of mice and men . . . '

Welcome to the New Boss: Globalization

Graphic source: somethingworthwhilequotes.com

Globalization is something I experienced first-hand ten years ago although at that time I don't think I had realized what the term implied or even if I'd heard it at that time.

I needed work done for online projects and my staff, inclined as they were to spending time with their families, wanting to sleep, and having sundry and important things to do actually wanted to go home circa 5 p.m. Slackers!

Work needed to get done so I starting looking online for free-lancers who could do the work. I was pleasantly surprised to find eager, competent, and educated personnel who could do the work responsibly and easily meet 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time deadlines. Didn't they have to sleep? Didn't they have families and lives too?

Of course they did but as the sun sets on the United States, hopefully not permanently, the sun is rising, and I hope only metaphorically, to the West. Geographically this area is generally known as the Pacific Rim, or the East: China, India, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Korea.

I should have been more aware of this development because during 1994-1998 I first employed electronic bulletin boards and sought qualified experts to comment about online academic courses I developed in a University Liberal Arts program.

The answers were articulate, accurate, and academically credible.

All of this though has hardly prepared me for the hand-wringing which began in earnest a couple of weeks ago when Citibank, Merrill Lynch, and other financial services giants announced that they were turning to countries like China, Singapore and Kuwait for the billions in funds they desperately seek to cover their losses from the sub-prime mortgage meltdown.

Is American #1? The question haunts my classroom on a daily basis as I consider the notion of the wealthiest, most powerful nation on Earth depending so uncomfortably on foreign investment.

We need to get accustomed to it.

IBM, the paradigmatic "American" IT company, relies on foreign interests for nearly two-thirds of its business and has advertised its position as a stalwart globalized IT enterprise. IBM is closely allied with Asia, in particular, India.

The plain truth is that globalization is inherent in economic life today. If you are fighting the inevitable, you need to adjust.

This is not your father's analysis and globalization if anything will simply increase. The task here is to adjust, decry risk-averse strategies, and try to prosper through challenging times.

Note on Karl Christ, The Romans: An Introduction to their History and Civilization

The Roman struggle over social equity during the Struggle of the Orders during the Republic is one of the classic eras to examine as grist for the mill as adherents of all political persuasions seek to capture it for their polemics. Karl Christ deftly handles the period and does not pander to an extreme liberal view, as in Marx, nor does he defend the conservative status quo. He rightly situates the Struggle as a two century battle, not easily captured by any more contemporary politics.

In an outstanding book in so many ways, a genuine highpoint is his summary of the civilization as one of the most important bases of the modern world. Christ notes that the Romans form the basis of so much of Western Civilization and later Revolutions. He handles the major scholars of Roman history, Mommsen, Herder, von Ranke, Burckhardt, Rostovtzeff, and Syme, all of whom appear with a flourish in the concluding chapter. He summarized the "virtues" and excesses of Rome and describes why they are so important to our own questions and why Roman civilization remains a treasured darling of historians. This is the best one volume introduction around.

Fort Dix Six Recruit for al Qaeda in Prison

In newly released government documents, the Fort Dix Six are continuing jihad by recruiting, circulating an al Qaeda DVD, and proselytizing amongst fellow inmates. Their hand-written notes have been released. Cf. http://intelwire.egoplex.com/index.html

AQ Slithering Towards Mosul

Graphic source: The Long War Journal

AQ in Iraq is slithering northwards towards Mosul since the Coalition is pressuring, and eliminating, AQ in the south in and near Baghdad.

Rotten Apple Takes the Cake

Thanks to the good folks over at Internet Evolution an unscientific survey noted that Apple rankles more people as the most hated technology company.

Over a 1,000 pollsters ranked Apple first, then, Microsoft with 27% and 22% respectively. Google was voted on the best liked company at 33%.

U.S. Web Site Supports al-Qaida

A Computerworld
article today announced that a U.S. website offers a strengthened encryption device intended to hide al-Qaeda supporters.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an organization that has monitored how radical Muslims have housed jihadist sites in the U.S. for some time.

In this case, the current server is hosted in Tampa, and previously the site appears to have been run off a system in Minnesota. MEMRI identified the Web hosting firm that owns the server on which the site, al-Ekhlaas that offers the encryption device, is the Florida-based Noc4hosts Incorporated.

Welcome to the Club!

A Professor, an Assistant of course, is claiming to be the first professor to employ a blog to get a peer review of an academic book. He may get more than he bargained for since there are non-peers out there but this is a worthwhile effort.

Academe is a closed circuit process. You have to qualify for the club, and club members decide who is in the club. The club is not always open to alternative voices but if you are an academic you should remain open to creative impulses. Those creative impulsive are often first noticed and expressed by outsiders because they are outside the club. They notice things that the club members miss.

The blog in this particular effort is one that is apropos for the book itself. Outsiders, gamers, and Internet savvy persons are some of the best and creative minds who have applied themselves to the topic. They should be involved.

I wish the author well.

The professor is working on a book about digital fiction and video games and many of these people are outside academia but they have intriguing insights into the subject matter.

It is in this vein then that Noah Wardrip-Fruin, an assistant professor of communication at the University of California San Diego, announced plans to post portions of his forthcoming book, Expressive Processing, on the Grand Text Auto blog to seek peer review and before the book is published by MIT Press.

Computerworld Recommended Books for 2008

Today's Computerworld has an interesting article entitled: Books That Can Change Your Life: Must-reads for 2008 which is well-worth taking a look at.

Financials Get Ready for the Next Challenge

One of my biggest concerns in the Internet age is the “rude awakening” Americans received on 9/11, and realizing how prone our computers systems are to nefarious deeds. Of those directly effected, they learned they didn’t have the communications diversity and redundancy that should have been in place. Many IT organizations though responded quickly and did an unbelievable job of rectifying the identified problems. As people have grown complacent though, they are most likely forgetting several important steps that a recent Computerworld article addressed:

Financial companies have taken these steps to protect themselves against another Internet outage:

* Set up dedicated networks independent of telephone companies in certain parts of the country.

* Negotiated more aggressively with communications companies to guarantee diverse routing.

* Separated data centers and communications centers more widely geographically.

Cf. Computerworld 21 January 2008.

A Contemporary Application of "Teach The Children"

"Teach the Children" is an anti-war song made famous during the Vietnam conflict by Crosby, Stills, and Nash. This is the same group who memorialized the four students killed at Kent State by National Guardsmen in the song "Ohio."