Patterico's Pontifications

11/28/2008

Finally: Some change for Obama people to believe in

Filed under: General — Karl @ 6:23 pm



[Posted by Karl]

The storyline of the past week or two has been the general lack of changeyness visible in Barack Obama’s picks as nominees for his incoming administration.  The other day, Allahpundit wrote that “the only ones who got screwed thus far were the far-Left groups that bought into the Hope and Change populism and thought Obama would start a new Golden Age of Progressivism.”

However, a hint of Change surfaced today with word that Samantha Power has crawled out from under Obama’s campaign bus:

A former adviser to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign who once called Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton a “monster” is now working on the transition team for the agency that Clinton may lead.

At the time, I noted that the “monster” comment was likely only part of the reason for the Power outage, with more realistic Kinsleyian gaffes about how quickly US troops could be drawn down in Iraq being another factor.  Power stood by those comments and even hinted she could return after the election.

Power seems to be making her comeback, so it is worth reminding everyone that she is a virulently anti-Israel academic who has supported, among other things, imposing and enforcing a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a commitment of US troops.

Now that would be very changey indeed.

— Karl

Black Friday

Filed under: Crime — DRJ @ 12:49 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

A Long Island Walmart maintenance man was killed this morning as shoppers trampled him entering the store for Black Friday specials:

“He was bum-rushed by 200 people,” said Jimmy Overby, 43, a co-worker. “They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too…I literally had to fight people off my back.”

The unidentified victim was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:03 a.m., police said.

Unbelievable.

— DRJ

Mumbai Terrorism Update

Filed under: Terrorism — DRJ @ 12:25 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

The Indian government claims that up to 7 of the Mumbai terrorists were British-born Pakistanis from the same area as the 7/7 attackers:

“British-born Pakistanis were among the Mumbai terrorists, Indian government sources claimed today, as the death toll rose to at least 155.

As many as seven of the terrorists may have British connections and some could be from Leeds and Bradford where London’s July 7 bombers lived, one source said.

Two Britons were among eight gunmen being held, according to Mumbai’s chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. At least nine others are reportedly dead.”

British PM Gordon Brown urged caution while the reports are investigated.

Meanwhile, there are continued reports of explosions in Mumbai and of a resumption of gunfire at the Taj Mahal Hotel where “officers were still locked in combat with up to six militants believed to be holed up in the ballroom.” (Other reports say there may be a lone gunman.) There are also stories of heroism by the hotel staff who put their own lives at risk to save innocent guests.

Sadly, there was tragic news from a Mumbai Jewish Center where 5 Jewish hostages were killed including Brooklyn NY Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivkah. Their 2-year-old son Moshe survived.

It’s too early to know with certainty but it appears terrorists came ashore from boats and moved to pre-designated targets where they used small arms and explosives to terrorize the city. It reminds me of a terrorist version of the Luby’s shooting in Killeen, Texas. If so, it could happen anywhere.

UPDATE: The terror is over after 60 hours and it appears there may have only been 10 terrorists, most or all of whom were from Pakistan. The sole surviving terror suspect (photo at this link) claims they were trying to recreate 9/11 in India.

One photographer claims the police were ineffective at killing or capturing the terrorists. If this is true, I don’t think it would happen in the U.S.

— DRJ

Federal Judge Wrote That Software Disabled by Kozinski Was “Integral Part” of Court’s “Security Apparatus”

Filed under: General,Kozinski — Patterico @ 12:07 pm



In 2002, a federal judge chairing a committee on information technology wrote that software disabled by Judge Alex Kozinski was an “integral part” of the “security apparatus” of the federal courts’ data communication network, and that its disabling caused considerable “security risks” to court computer security.

For those of you who are interested the recent ethics complaint against Judge Kozinski, accusing him of disabling court security software in 2001, Howard Bashman has posted the complaint online here. The complaint was filed by L. Ralph Mecham, former head of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

In connection with that complaint, Cyrus Sanai passes along to me a letter that he says was sent to him by Mecham. The letter is dated May 10, 2002. It is from the late Edwin Nelson, a federal judge who was the chair of a 14-judge committee called the “Committee on Information Technology.” The letter is addressed to U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, then the chairman of a House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.

The most interesting part of the letter is at page 4, regarding Kozinski’s disabling of the intrusion detection system for the judicial branch’s Data Communications Network (DCN):

Note that Judge Nelson says the disabling was authorized by the “Executive Committee of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council.” Exactly who was on that Executive Committee is not clear.

I’m not aware of this letter having been published before.

Are Watches in Advertising Photos Always Set to the Same Time?

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 10:33 am



The answer is yes — for traditional watches in particular (somewhat less so for digital watches). Check out these Amazon watches for examples.

What do you think the time is, and why?

This New York Times article explains.

New York Daily News the Latest Paper Suckered by Greg Packer

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 9:01 am



The Daily News article is headlined Revelers pack city as Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade delights young and old:

“It brings out the kid in all of us,” said Greg Packer, 44, of Huntington, L.I. “It’s that sense of togetherness that keeps me coming back.”

That — and the incessant need to be quoted in newspapers.

Don’t feel bad, New York Daily News. Even the New York Times recently fell for Packer’s cheerful brand of obsessive media whoring. You’re not alone.


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