[science fiction] botnets and zombies attack root machines

A handful of the 13 machines that work as the internet's traffic cops were struck last night as Asian hackers overwhelmed them in a co-ordinated strike. According to our report, the attacks lasted 12 hours but failed to completely immobilise the servers in question.

Using botnets and zombie machines, the hackers tried to overwhelm the root servers in what was effectively a massive denial-of-service strike. But security experts say ordinary internet users wouldn't have noticed any real difference, despite the fact that Graham Cluley of Sophos likened the attack to '"twenty hippos trying to get through a revolving door at the same time".

Any idea why the Asians wished to do this? Who were the goodies in this and who the baddies? Any significance in the number 13? Who are these root servers?

[house of lords] someone finally recognizes its vital role

On the absolute stupidity of an elected Lords, Martine Martin, G-d bless her cotton socks, has said:

I will argue that point to the death. I've never read an argument yet for this that stands up in any way. To say that an unelected second chamber is somehow "inappropriate for the 21st century" reeks of an incredibly superficial understanding of democracy and our parliamentary system in general. As we know, any banana republic can have elections. They're meaningless compared to all the other nuances of a political system created in order to remove the potential for corruption or abuse of power.

Of course – it’s only logical. I differ from her only in the workability of inducting new Lords and in her view of hereditary peers: “Transform the remaining hereditaries into Life Peers.” No, the hereditary peers have every right to a place in the Lords, on the basis of her own argument:

As we know, any banana republic can have elections. They're meaningless compared to all the other nuances of a political system created in order to remove the potential for corruption or abuse of power.

What I think Martine is getting at is that they should be above politics. In this I heartily concur and deplore the attempts to cripple this absolutely vital chamber for the survival of our freedoms. My proposals are here and here is my fervent hope that this current madness shall pass.

UPDATE: Please check out Benedict White's take on this.

[men and women] close partnership or constant war

National hero had been sleeping with his best friend’s wife

Relations between men and women is a field I’ve done a certain amount of research on over ten years although I’ve surveyed far more women than men, maybe 1800 females to about 200 males.

I’ve asked the straight question: “What are the characteristics you’d most like to see in your partner?” and have done scenarios where certain characters are placed side by side with multiple characteristics and have then seen which they’ve chosen.

Certain things have come out of this. Both felt that being loved, liked and respected was way up near the top but it came out differently. The males, who admittedly were a poor cross section, comprising only students and businessmen, assumed this but the females stated ‘respect’ over and over, ahead of ‘confidence’, ‘intelligence’, ‘sense of purpose’, ‘sense of humour’, ‘money’ and a host of other features.

Both assumed the opposite number would be good looking to a point. The males were less articulate about it but it’s perhaps fair to say they wanted the girl to be ‘feminine’, ‘soft and loving’ and the characteristics they most detested in a woman were ‘nagging’, ‘infidelity’, ‘troublemaking’ and ‘feminism’. These came out, over and over again as driving them away from their partners and even overseas to fresh fields, with nagging the worst, the older the man was.

The females hated ‘disrespect’ and then ‘weakness’ and ‘lack of intelligence, money and cleanliness’, in no particular order. In recent years, ‘money’ has gone further and further towards the top. Interesting then that Samantha Brett has just posed the question of a man crying – how it affects a woman and her results can be seen here.

Activity wise, most of the females liked dancing, conversation, shopping and sex; almost all of the males saw sex at the end of anything they did, though of course they’d be ‘just friends’ with a woman who didn’t physically attract them. Nightclubs were for the ‘scene’ and for ‘picking up’, not so much for the dancing for the guys, whilst it all fitted together for the girls.

[illegal aliens] of snakeheads, dashboards & cash

How a story grows and grows:

US Customs and Border Protection said inspectors found a 40-year-old man crammed into the dash of a Mercury Sable mid-size car during a routine inspection at the Calexico port of entry in southern California on Saturday.

This led to the tale of snakeheads and Sister Ping, who arranged for illegal Chinese immigrants to go to the West but then kidnapped them on arrival and demand huge ransom, often using torture. The most notorious incident was when the ship Golden Venture ran aground off New York and the scam was exposed.

I’d like to know from where the $30 000 ‘fee’ would come from. If illegals could find that sort of cash, surely they could do what was necessary to enter the US the normal way. If that was impossible because of criminal connections, then surely it would be dangerous for the snakeheads to take them on in the first place.

The Zorlu Turkish affair is Britain's contribution and the Dorset coast, near Bournemouth, is a notorious entry point.

[blogroll] my right sidebar has been updated

The first of two changes has now been made. The roll titles will be adjusted later, to take into account the sheer numbers. The Blogpower roll, over on Defending the Blog, is unfortunately static for the moment because the two admins can't get to it to change it.

[2012] are you planning to be at the olympics

There seems to be complete myopia as to what is going down. Can’t we join the dots on the picture? Why is it so difficult? Outside Story refers to it:

The government is considering allowing armed US and Israeli police at the Olympics to protect their athletes from Islamic terrorists. They are also considering using the army to assist.

Using the army. The British Army. 2012. Meanwhile - destruction of the criminal justice system. Prisons crisis. NHS breakdown. ID cards. Four years ago I wrote to my friend in America:

It’s the old dialectic. Foment a crisis, sit back and allow it to fester until the public cries out: “Enough!” Relax vigilance via a series of bureaucratic errors, thus enabling an atrocity. Announce sweeping Draconian measures to take on the “hidden enemy” and re-order society as you wish it. The hidden enemy disappears, the public are grateful. You have what you were always after in the first place. The oldest trick in the book in democracies.

And while we're at it, an interesting post on the triumvirate.