This and That...

[Warph]

New Normal: Manhattan's Secret Tenement Offers Hell For $10 a Night

(Nanny Bloomberg and Carlos Danger unavailable for comment)

Via NYPost:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/life_in_dog_cage_yZiwcoSsx5b842jXeHEWcK

It's a human kennel.

Less than a 10-minute walk from Soho is the Sun Bright Hotel — where men pay $10 a night to live in tiny cells bounded by chicken wire.

It's a single-room-occupancy hotel that has been operating since the late 19th century and where today men live side by side in filth.

"It was horrible — like an animal shelter," a first responder, recently summoned to the hotel, told The Post.

"I picked up a suit on the wall and roaches fell out," the rescuer said, "hundreds of them."

Nestled on the edge of Chinatown between the Bowery and Elizabeth Street, the hotel on Hester Street is minutes from Balthazar, where the $135 côte de boeuf for two would cover half a month's rent at the Sun Bright.

[jarhead]

Jimmy Carter's ghost stalks Obama White House
By Liz Peek

Published August 05, 2013
FoxNews.com


Vague terrorist threats shutting down nineteen of our embassies, Russian strongman Putin thumbing his nose at President Obama, Iran jerking our chain – the U.S. hasn't looked this cowardly on the world stage since the Jimmy Carter administration.

Here at home, too, we've gone back to the Carter future; unemployment is high, Keynesian economics are all the rage, our professorial president is increasingly whiny and ineffectual; all that's missing is a cardigan sweater and that infernal violin.

Our recent contre-temps with Russia is a throw-back to the weak-kneed Carter era. President Vladimir Putin has granted temporary asylum to NSA leaker and fugitive Edward Snowden, despite frantic efforts by the White House to take the traitor into custody.

Mr. Obama is said to be livid; after all, he has pursued a chummy relationship with Putin for years.


The similarities between Obama and Carter are not confined to foreign fiascos.

At one point his eagerness translated into a seeming breach of faith with his own country, when he was caught on tape promising Putin (via his former number two Dmitri Medvedev) even greater accommodation on missile defense once reelected. Apparently the numerous earlier rebuffs from the Russian bully – on Iran, on missile defense, on Syria etc. -- made no impression; Obama is ever hopeful.

Jimmy Carter was also unprepared to deal with Russia. NATO allies, worried about the Soviet deployment of longer-range, more capable SS-20 missiles in Europe beginning in 1976, pushed Carter to counter with U.S. cruise and Pershing missiles, to maintain strategic parity.

When Carter and Brezhnev met to sign Salt II, Carter whiffed; not only did he fail to win any agreement on the SS-20s, he never even broached the NATO demands.

Helmut Schmidt, who had spearheaded the strategy, was furious. Later, he described Jimmy Carter's profound ignorance (and improbable optimism) about the Soviet Union: "He wasn't aware that the Russians don't know and never have known citizen's rights," the former German chancellor wrote.

In 1980, President Carter asked the Senate to discontinue consideration of the Salt II treaty in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a stunning rebuke to U.S. interests. The same year, he ordered a boycott of the Moscow Olympics.

Both Carter and Obama came to office convinced that by dint of righteousness or personality they could win over our enemies. That it was just a matter of persuasion.

President George W. Bush is widely scorned these days for attempting to export democracy to the peoples of other lands; Mr. Obama, like Carter before him, has sought kindness and justice from the likes of Hugo Chavez and Bashar-Al-Assad. Which is more naïve?

Naivete is costly. Both the Carter and Obama administrations have been distinguished by the rare murder of an ambassador.

Even before the Iran hostage crisis that came to symbolize the failures of his presidency, Jimmy Carter was "shocked and saddened" when the Russians, along with Afghan security forces, killed Adolph Dubs, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.

On Obama's watch, of course, we lost Christopher Stevens, ambassador to Libya and three others; the president called it a "shocking attack."

In both cases, critics charged the White House with incompetence and carelessness for not protecting our own.

Iran has proved a testing ground for both Carter and Obama, as the despots leading that country took the measure of U.S. leadership and found it wanting.

Under Carter, Iran took 52 U.S. citizens hostage in one of our country's most humiliating chapters.

More recently, Iran's former president Ahmadinejad has continued to publicly spurn Obama's efforts to rein in that country's nuclear ambitions, at times driving a wedge between the U.S. and ally Israel.

Obama's lack of response to the mass slaughter in Syria and scrambled interactions with Egypt harks back to Carter's impotence in the face of the 1979 OPEC oil embargo.

In Egypt today, the United States is ignored by both Islamist supporters of now-deposed President Morsi and also by the military; we are blamed by both sides for the chaos in that country. That's quite an accomplishment, given the enormous aid we have ladled out to Egypt for decades. Unimaginably, it is EU foreign policy chief Cathy Ashton who is attempting to mediate between the two factions.

The parallels between the Carter and Obama presidencies are not accidental. Both men were elected in what amounted to a national rejection of their predecessors.

Neither candidate had any significant executive experience or foreign policy chops.

Carter ran on being an honest man – not Tricky Dick Nixon. Obama ran on being likeable and eager to unite the country – not arrogant and divisive George W. Bush.

Both men promised change, and fulfilled that promise. Unhappily, they did not always deliver change for the better.

The similarities between Obama and Carter are not confined to foreign fiascos.

Domestically, both have struggled to ignite growth and lower unemployment; both have clung to a profound belief in the powers of deficit spending and efficacy of federal meddling.

Faced with soaring inflation, Carter imposed price controls that caused rampant confusion and slowed growth; he also introduced gasoline rationing that led the country to quite literally run out of gas.

The same urge to tinker bedevils Obama, who cannot understand why consumers do not line up to buy the electric cars that he has required Detroit to manufacture, or why bankrolling uncompetitive "green" energy companies are bets that go bad.

Instead of searching for private market resolutions to problems like soaring medical costs, Obama chose to funnel even more of the economy through the federal spigot. Who today believes that ObamaCare is the best possible answer to reining in the cost of healthcare?

One of the few divides between the Obama presidency and that of Jimmy Carter is that Mr. Obama won reelection. Pity.

[jarhead]

Warph, Better not be picking boogers while sitting in front of your TV.


Is your TV watching you?
By John R. Quain

Published August 06, 2013


Perhaps you're not worried about the National Security Agency tracking your phone calls and e-mails -- but what if they were watching you in your PJs on your couch?

It may sound like something out of Mission Impossible, but it's the stuff of fact, not fiction.

Last week, two security researchers from iSEC Partners reminded us that today's Internet-connected smart TVs can be hacked. At the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, the pair explained how they found loopholes in older Samsung models and were able to turn on a set's video camera without the user's knowledge. Such a proof-of-concept attack has been demonstrated before, and Samsung reportedly has closed the loopholes. (Notice that new Samsung sets have a camera that can be flipped up to point at the ceiling.


But researchers point out vulnerabilities like this all the time. The practical question is, would anyone do this in the real world?

In fact, the U.S. government has demonstrated that it has just such a capability as part of its ongoing cyber espionage battle with foreign governments. Security analysts say the sophisticated spyware dubbed Flame was created by government programmers, and among its many features, the program is able to turn on a target's Web cam and record video (all without turning on the telltale flashing recording light). In addition, hackers routinely use programs called remote administration tools (or RATs) to switch on a victim's camera remotely, effectively turning the video camera in an office or living room into a private CCTV monitor.

Maybe all you're guilty of is playing air guitar in the office when the boss is out, but the idea that organizations like the NSA can literally look into American living rooms should disturb most citizens. Making it all the more unnerving is the fact that such programs are nearly undetectable, say security companies.

"Why Flame was found was because it was out of control," says Aleks Gostev, chief security expert at Kaspersky Labs. Gostev warns that Flame was infecting systems for years before it was detected, and that other even more sophisticated programs could already be online monitoring users. Indeed, recent leaks about the NSA's XKeyscore program from Edward Snowden seem to confirm that the U.S. government is attempting to monitor all online traffic -- video is just part of that traffic.

As far as hackers watching you watching TV, in order for those attacks to be successful one has to engage in a chat session or look up a Web page on the television, whereby the malware can infect the set. If you never use your smart TV to look up a sports statistic or chat with friends, you're probably safe from hackers -- but not from the government.

The problem is that the companies behind the video chat software -- Microsoft owns Skype, for example -- have been forced to cooperate with the government. Indeed, according to leaked documents, the NSA has been able to record Skype video calls since Microsoft purchased the company. So there's no need to hack into your TV.

To those who believe such surveillance is worrying but could never be used against them, consider a report this week from Reuters that secret surveillance information from the NSA -- which is only supposed to be concerned with foreign security threats -- is being used by local law enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration in the United States to make arrests. The source of the information is never revealed, so its admissibility cannot be questioned in court, according to the report.

So should we go back to dumb TVs and stay off the Internet? Should you never allow a Web cam into the house?

I love video conferencing. It's the best way to communicate with family and friends, and I'm not about to give it up. I do think we should be a lot more skeptical about what government agencies are up to online. And until we find out more, when it's supposed to be off I'm putting tape over the TV's camera.

[Bullwinkle]

    They've always used the media, but they're getting much better at it.

[Warph]

Warph, Better not be picking boogers while sitting in front of your TV.
Is your TV watching you?

We live in very weird times, Jar... how weird?  I recently heard that atheists are insisting that the U.S. Navy accept atheist chaplains into its ranks.  What on earth would their function be, you ask?  I can't imagine, unless there really are sailors who would find comfort in being assured as they go into combat that there's no God and no afterlife.  I had long heard that there were no atheists in foxholes, and assumed the rule held true for fighting men aboard ships.

Surely of all the world's religions, not even Islam is as bizarre as atheism.  And of all the professions, none is as bizarre as politics.  In what other field could the likes of Barack Obuma, Dirty Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Henry Waxman, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Sheila Jackson Lee, reach the top.

Not even the egos to be found in show business are as huge as those carted around by politicians.  Even someone as disgusting as Mr. Weenie continues to assert he is the only person fit to run New York City.  Even though Nanny Bloomberg set a very low standard, it's impossible to picture Mr. Weenie as the indispensable man.

What is it, anyway, with people like Mr. Weenie, 48, and Geraldo Rivera, 70, that convinces them that for no other reason than that they're skinny, they're hunky heartthrobs.  Someone at Fox News should whisper in Rivera's ear that 70 really isn't the new 50.  In some cases, it's clearly the new 15.

I've been after Speaker John Bonehead in no uncertain terms, accusing him of being a milquetoast amongest other things.  I readily acknowledge there's no sin in being civil.  In fact, in most cases, it's a virtue.  But not when you're the majority leader of the House and the other side keeps accusing Republicans of every sin from racism to bestiality.

When in the wake of the Benghazi massacre, the targeting of conservatives by the IRS and snooping on AP reporters and Fox's James Rosen, Obuma and his sock puppet "Little Jay" Carney keep referring to "phony scandals," the majority leader's job is to go for their throats, not to be overly concerned whether he and Mrs. Bonehead will be invited to the White House Christmas bash.

I am also sick and tired of hearing Republican politicians speak longingly of compromising with liberals.  How many times will they allow themselves to be screwed?
There is no way to compromise with people who want to expand government; set ObumaCare in concrete; subsidize green industry/Obuma's cronies with our tax dollars; and turn a blind eye to a $17 trillion debt.  You reach across the aisle with these schmucks and they cut off your arm.

One other piece of advice to these congenital morons: Stop reading the damn New York Times!  Your constituents don't.  In fact the only people who do are your liberal colleagues, for whom it serves as a secular missal.

Just remember that leading up to the 2008 primaries, the Times insisted that John McRino would make a great president because he was so statesmanlike.  McRino, fool that he is, took it so much to heart, that he refused to even mention the role that Jeremiah Wright had played in Obuma's personal and political life and even went so far as to put the kibosh on any campaign ads that dared to mention the intimate link between the two rabid racists.

Speaking of he-who-should-be-impeached, I loved the joke that went viral recently suggesting that George Zimmerman change his name to Ben Ghazi so that Obuma would never again mention him.

[Warph]

Huge Fire At Int'l Arrivals Terminal at Kenyatta Int'l Airport

Via BBC:
A fire has broken out at the main international airport in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) said Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) had been closed and passengers evacuated.

Images posted on Twitter showed smoke and flames billowing from one of the main buildings.

There have been no reports of any casualties and the cause of the fire is not clear.

A statement from the airport authority said: "We confirm reports of a fire at JKIA affecting part of [the] international arrivals building and Unit 1 departures.

"KAA Fire and Rescue Team is on [the] ground being assisted by G4S and Nairobi Fire Brigade. Passengers have been evacuated to safety."

Mutea Iringo, a senior official at the interior and national co-ordination ministry, also confirmed "a serious fire" at JKIA, adding: "We are doing everything possible to avert a crisis."

The KAA later tweeted that the airport had been closed until further notice and only emergency vehicles were allowed in the area.

[Warph]

White House Unveils Website To "Educate" Business Owners On Obumacare

They say educate... I say indoctrinate.... 
How about we call the whole thing off?

Via Washington Post:

The White House has kicked its Obamacare outreach and education efforts into full gear, including a new Website designed specifically for curious and confused business owners.

The new site allows employers to input their location, company size and current insurance plans and receive tailored information about changes under the law, important dates to remember, and the formulas for determining requirements and penalties.

Dubbed the Health Care Wizard, the site is part of BusinessUSA, the administration's interagency information outlet for employers. The new site churns out information gathered from Department of Health and Human Services, the Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration.

[Warph]

Race "Shaping Up" For Pants Suit,
As She Meets With Diet Guru

(What difference at this point do a few pounds make?  
You already have the weight of the fail of your time
with the Obuma administration that you can never diet off)

Via Breitbart:

Hillary Clinton is reportedly meeting with Bill Clinton's diet guru in order to prepare for a potential 2016 run.

According to the New York Post, Clinton met with diet guru Dr. Mark Hyman on Sunday. Hyman is "credited with turning around Bill Clinton's health" and helped the former president lose 24 pounds.

Clinton was "spotted dining with Hyman at the West Street Grill in Litchfield, Conn., Sunday night" and reportedly "was accompanied by four Secret Service agents and two troopers." Clinton "drove an hour from her home in Chappaqua for the three-hour dinner with Hyman and his girlfriend."

Hyman "runs the Ultra Wellness Center in Lenox, Mass., which helps promote healthy weight and metabolism."

[Warph]

Clowns McRINO And Grahamnesty Demand Egypt Release
Jailed Muslim Brotherhood Leaders

(These MB are the same people who call Jews the
"descendants of apes and pigs" and regularly
call for the destruction of Israel)

Via Al-Arabiya:

U.S. Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham urged Egypt's military-backed government to release jailed members of the Muslim Brotherhood and called on rival parties in the country to engage in a national dialogue and avoid violence.

McCain and Graham met with top military and civilian leaders in Cairo as part of international efforts to resolve a standoff with supporters of the ousted President Mohammad Mursi.
"Democracy is the only viable path to stability," said McCain, a former presidential candidate, calling for "an inclusive political process in which all Egyptians are free to participate," AFP reported.

Both lawmakers referred to the military's July 3 ouster of Mursi as a "coup," something their government has been reluctant to do as it would have legal implications for the $1.3 billion dollars (977 million euros) in U.S. aid to Egypt.

"The people who are in charge were not elected, and the people who were elected are now in jail," Graham told reporters.

"We urge the release of political prisoners," said McCain, referring to Brotherhood members who have been detained since Mursi's ouster by the military on July 3, the Associated Press reported.

"In a democracy, you have to talk to each other. It is impossible to talk to somebody in jail," Graham said.

[Warph]

Government Motors Slashes Volt Prices To Sell Them (At A Loss)

(Just can't give these damn things away can they?  I have only seen one on the road)

Via Detroit News:

General Motors Co. is slashing the price of its plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt by $5,000., making it the latest automaker to lower prices of electric vehicles in the face of lagging consumer demand.

The Detroit-based automaker said it will cut the base price 12.5 percent, from $39,995 to $34,995. The price cut comes just weeks after the automaker announced a $5,000 give-back on the 2012 Volt and $4,000 on the 2013 model.

The first Volt, a 2010 model, cost $41,000.

GM put a positive face on its decision to lower the list price.

"The lower price and cost savings from driving on electricity provide Volt owners an unmatched balance of technology, capability and cost of ownership," said Don Johnson, U.S. vice president, Chevrolet sales and service. "We have made great strides in reducing costs as we gain experience with electric vehicles and their components."