Wormtown Taxi Passing Lane

Jeff Barnard 12/08/1948 to 11/28/2010

My blogging friend Jeff Barnard passed away on Sunday. Jeff was fighting the good fight with melanoma cancer and true to form he blogged about his daily routine as best he could and when he could on his Worcester blog, Wormtown Taxi. His last post was so much true to his form and spirit and it was to his wife Kathy. It was just a simple thought from him to let his wife know that he loved her very much, she was his angel.

Jeff was a good friend to me when it came to my blog writing and many a time he would email me to point out where I needed to tone things down a bit when it came to my thoughts on the local level or just outright delete and idiotic post with a well worded explanation as to why.

He was a good man and a good friend too many, the world will be a little less reported on with Jeff’s Taxi signing off of his last shift. For all of the bloggers in Worcester and around the nation that knew him, raise a glass of beer to him and always tell a story. It will make Jeff very happy.

Rest in peace my friend. May the good lord keep you in the hollow of his hand or put you on the writing desk at St. Peters Gate. God bless ya Jeff.

Papamoka

O'Connor Brothers is handling arrangements

Iran Nuclear Plans Cyber Screwed

With all the saber rattling from the president of Iran on his nation standing up against the nuclear powers of the world it is almost ironic that somehow his nuclear program was cyber screwed by a computer virus. Where it came from, who sent it, who built the virus, seems to be perfect karma for the idiot from Tehran that threatened the world with his potential nuclear threat.

The construction of the worm was so advanced, it was “like the arrival of an F-35 into a World War I battlefield,” says Ralph Langner, the computer expert who was the first to sound the alarm about Stuxnet. Others have called it the first “weaponized” computer virus.

Simply put, Stuxnet is an incredibly advanced, undetectable computer worm that took years to construct and was designed to jump from computer to computer until it found the specific, protected control system that it aimed to destroy: Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. – Fox News

The lowdown on the virus or worm that crippled the Iranian enrichment of nuclear fuel processing is that it was brilliant in every phase according to everyone that has been privy to study it. The article is a must read. The worm hid and remained dormant for long periods of time and changed at will till it found the computer systems it wanted to be in. Once there it manipulated the system to make all operations look normal while it slowly screwed up the centrifuges by varying the speeds of the centrifuge units burning out the bearings. All the while systems looked perfect to the Iranian scientist and engineers who ended up with garbage for nuclear fuel with no explanation.

Sitting back in my chair while I write this it would not surprise me in the least if this was an internal virus or worm built by very intelligent Iranian computer geniuses. It isn’t a secret that the religious government of Iran has always looked at its own scientific people as dangerous to the religious movement and murdered, persecuted, imprisoned, and harassed them to no end in the past. And yet they wanted the best of their scientific minds to build the worst potential product that could be used as a weapon to kill millions simply because the saber rattling was not enough. I’d bet a dozen Persian carpets that the Iranian Nuclear Program was sabotaged from within and I may just be right by the number of nuclear scientist in Iran that have simply disappeared. Or should I say merely wandered off into the desert due to the high rate of Alzheimer’s in the scientific community in Iran.

My next best bet would be a bunch of teenagers in Iran that thought they were buying a goat on Iran’s equivalent of Ebay and they accidently hit the wrong button and found themselves deep inside of the uranium centrifuge program. Ya that must be what really happened! NOT!

OR, and this might be a long shot, Imadinnerjacket pissed off so many nations around the world with his threats and saber rattling that they decided to put their best computer geeks minds together and screwed him and his program over. That would make more sense.

Papamoka

***Current has linked in. Thanks!

Common Sense to Offshore Wind Power

Developing new wind power farms off the Atlantic coast of America received a much needed shot in the arm this week from the Obama administration. One of the largest deterrents to expanding wind power offshore is the multiple levels of federal, state, and local red tape that every project must go through before even one wind turbine can be built. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced a fast track process that will remove years from the process by pre-qualifying potential tracts offshore for potential developers that are considering new offshore wind projects. The new initiative has been rightfully named, “Smart from the Start”.

BALTIMORE, MD -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today launched a ‘Smart from the Start’ wind energy initiative for the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf to facilitate siting, leasing and construction of new projects, spurring the rapid and responsible development of this abundant renewable resource. “Our ‘Smart from the Start’ Initiative for Atlantic wind will allow us to identify priority Wind Energy Areas for potential development, improve our coordination with local, state, and federal partners, and accelerate the leasing process,” Salazar noted. “If we are wise with our planning, we can help build a robust and environmentally responsible offshore renewable energy program that creates jobs here at home.” The accelerated leasing process is being simplified through a regulatory change, enabling leases to be issued in 2011 and 2012. – U.S. Department of the Interior

With our nation still heavily dependent on foreign sources for our energy needs then it makes for common sense that our government does everything possible to expedite our weaning from those energy sources.

The Cape Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts is just one example of regulation gone mad with the project taking almost ten years before even one watt of energy is harvested. Cape Wind once completed will supply 75% of the electricity needed by the residents and businesses on Cape Cod. Just imagine dozens of such wind farms off the Atlantic coast and the impact that would have on reducing our energy dependence.

Several states like Maryland, New Jersey and Rhode Island have already taken steps to speed up the process for new offshore wind power farms and the added streamlining by the Department of the Interior is a win, win for renewable energy in America.

Papamoka

Obama a One Term President

News reports, although never realistic based on push polls, can not be trusted when you insert reality or simple common sense into the scenario. Polls are out asking if President Barack Obama will be a one term president. I’m just thinking that the President still has two years left to his term but I’m funny like that wondering how this can even be realistically polled or predicted?

Alzheimer’s is rampant in the electorate given the last election results! We all know people are fickle and will vote their wallet and this fact is true because everyone forgot how screwed we all were under the leadership of George W. Bush. That is why Obama won the White House over Republican candidate John McCain in the first place! One has to ask if the voting public are sheep that will run the first time someone screams wolf? This past elections proves that theory given the fear factor of the Tea Party candidates that actually won and all of the democrat’s that were tossed out of office. Common sense lost and fear won.

Even Congressman Alan Grayson in Florida’s 8th Congressional district, a die hard for the people candidate was ousted. There was no common sense fiscally to understand his ousting at the polls knowing that he was a closet conservative budget watch dog on spending that just happened to be a liberal democrat.

Politically, it will look amazing in the history books on all of the accomplishments that President Barack Obama has been able to do in just his first two years as president. Obama passed Health Care Reform and when you look at history, every president since Harry Truman has tried to pass some form of national health care reform and none have succeeded. Obama passed banking and investment reform of Wall Street that cleaned up the mess that was disguised as pure capitalism but really was a house of magic where accounting tricks and mirrors were only the beginning to undermine the investments of all Americans. A banking industry where anyone that was breathing could qualify for a mortgage and bingo the house of cards in the housing market collapsed.

President Obama passed credit card reform and dealt a blow to the unscrupulous banking industry that gouged consumers simply because they could. Turning the employment numbers around since his predecessor, George W. Bush, whom is apparently the “New Ronald Reagan”, from a constant loss to positive yet small growth in the private sector was not a simple thing to do and it took leadership.

I find it amazing that it is even suggested to think that Obama will be a one term president. Yes, he was dealt a severe loss with the recent election but his presidency is only two years old. The party of “NO!” now has the House of Congress but they do not have the Senate. And the only real loser’s in this past election is the gridlock and bull that the GOP will unleash to stop any progress to help the people of America to not get out of a recession.

When I hear the crack heads in the GOP wanting to touch the third rail of Social Security, reducing benefits, cutting or even eliminating benefits for some, I’m reminded of my own advancing age. That brings up the “Get Out of my Pension” factor. AKA the GOP. That third rail burns anyone that touches it and that will be the reason President Obama will see a second term. When rich politicians touch seniors that vote in larger than life numbers based on the only income they have coming in then the third rail candidates always lose! Go GOP and crack heads.

As a political writer, the GOP taking the House of Representatives is a godsend. I’m wondering where all of these fiscally conservative people were when our nation went to war on two fronts and saw no problem with no bid contracts? Same folks want grandma and grandpa’s pension to bail out the deficit but see no problem with war profiteering? Go GOP!!!

Papamoka

Keith Olbermann Suspended

This was in the email today... I signed it and you should too.

BREAKING: MSNBC has suspended star anchor Keith Olbermann following the news that he donated to three Democratic candidates this election cycle.

Sign our emergency petition to MSNBC. Tell them to put Olbermann back on the air NOW!

Then, pass this to your progressive friends.

Media are writing about this breaking story right now, and our growing petition will display the public outrage.

NBC policy does not prohibit employees from donating to political candidates. But MSNBC president Phil Griffin is miffed that Keith didn't get "prior approval" first. Seriously. His feelings are hurt.

Meanwhile, Republicans Joe Scarborough and Pat Buchanan also gave political contributions -- but are not suspended. It must only be ok for MSNBC employees to give to Republicans, not Democrats.

Thanks for getting Keith's back. I've said it here once before... MSNBC SUCKS!

Papamoka