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Stunty Leeg
Joined: Apr 01, 2011
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 06:31
Hello All!
I like designing stuff. I don't do lots of game design, and usually when I'm designing things, I'm the one in charge, and so I can design it any way I want and then improvise it to make it work; so I expect my designs to have flaws (possibly lots). But I love stunty, and I love fantasy football, and so I wanted to suggest something. (My suggestion for regular fantasy football got shot down, but it was on the overpowered side, so I can live with that.) I also have a feeling I need a different name for them, but oh well.
With that in mind, ever since I've been here, I've been dying to see a team based around a wizard's mad creations. Probably a dark elf wizard. Someone who makes stuff for dark purposes - and then goes and gets himself killed. Suddenly all his creations are without purpose. So they band together, and try to do the things the wizard originally intended them to do. And people don't like them - and then.. they find Stunty Leeg. And they realise - here is a place where we can cause Mayhem and Carnage, and not only will we not get killed on sight for it, but people will watch and scream as we do it!
And so the Red Caps join Stunty Leeg. The Red Caps were created to be soldiers, scouts and servants to the wizard. They were tiny, but unlike most fey creatures, they were not created to be unseen or unheard. They were meant to terrorize and steal, to hurt and to maim, to collect and to kidnap. The Red Caps did have leaders though; these were the smart ones, the ones who DID know how to hide, how to use shadows to sneak up on their victims, how to follow a target for days before pouncing. The Red Caps follow these Night Masks wherever they go. But other things were created by the wizard - gargoyles who would defend his magnificent mansion, belching balls of lightning to incinerate intruders, and turning to stone when someone tried to see what had attacked them. Ropers, living columns that supported the wizard's huge home, that would reach out and snag any intruders and hold them until the wizard arrived to 'talk' to his guests; although sometimes the Ropers would get hungry and simply eat the visitor. And others too, although none in the quantity of these 4. And the Dark Elf Wizard knew that his creations would attack each other; and so he bred them to work together. With his loss, the Ropers and Gargoyles are entirely dependent on the murders of Red Caps who bring them food, or help them get somewhere where they can collect food. And so when the Red Caps found Stunty Leeg, the other creations came with the Red Caps, offering their strength to the team.
The Red Caps have yet to find a sponsor willing to back them into entering the Leeg; but hopefully, as various sponsors examine the Red Caps, the creations of the dead wizard will be tweaked until they demonstrate talents that will guarantee their place on the pitch.
The Roster:
0-2 Roper 3/6/1/8, Take Root, Loner, Tentacles, Stand Firm, Throw Teammate, Always Hungry, Extra Arms, Catch, SP (GA), 130k
0-2 Gargoyle 4/3/3/9, Bombardier, Stand Firm, Take Root, Thick Skull, A (GSP), 90k
0-2 Night Mask 7/1/3/6, Dodge, Stunty, Right Stuff, Shadowing, Side Step GA (SP), 60k
0-16 Red Cap 6/1/3/7, Dodge, Stunty, Right Stuff, S (GAP), 30k
Re-rolls: 60k
Apothecary: Purchaseable for 50k
Mechanics Comments:
The Ropers are the team big guys; Strength 6 is because the majority of the team is Strength 1. I wanted to emphasize their ability and purpose to hold on to things rather than their bash however, and thus they get grab instead of a damage skill, and their multitude of tentacles is reflected in the various catch skills, and a big guy with passing access seemed cool.
The Gargoyles are the crazy guys on the team; in stunty, I think every team needs a crazy guy, and bombardier is certainly crazy; the Gargoyles could make really good ball handlers or blitzers, but their tendency to freeze (take root) when looked at kind of shoots that down. Jump Up reflects a gargoyles wings which can be used for short distances.
Night Caps are the ball carriers and the blitzers; speed, G access, but countered by S1; it is still Stunty.
Red Caps are the linos; but unlike other stunties, they don't get A access, they get S access. They do still start with dodge, which is a double roll for them, but they don't have G access, so they still won't have the dreaded blodge; and they start with stab which makes S access less useful than normal, especially on S1 players.
The prices are rough; my main concern is the Roper probably seems much too low on paper, but P access and ball skills probably won't do him much good, even with Agi 2. If it really is a problem, I'll reduce to Agi 1. The gargoyle might also be an issue, but I have a feeling he is overpriced right now due to take root, so I'm happy where I'm at.
Last edited by Nelphine on Feb 27, 2012 - 15:57; edited 7 times in total
Joined: Jun 24, 2010
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 07:22
Just a quick reply here: You seem to have spent quite a bit of time on fluff here, but - and I don't want you to take this badly - not as much on the roster.
I'm not really sure what the overarching gimmick of the team is, but you have far, far too many skills for a starting roster. I'm not going to get into the pricing yet because there are too many issues with the roster as-written.
I mean, Stab linemen? Really? A Treeman analogue that starts with MA3 and a bunch of receiving skills on top of Tentacles and Grab? A Bombadier who is AV10 and starts with Jump Up?
It's all over the place, and while I admire the font of your creativity I do think that you should start a bit smaller. My suggestion to you is to use the existing Stunty teams as examples, not just in terms of pricing but also as a demonstration for what a reasonable number of starting skills is on any given player.
Remember, you want players to have room to grow! Any given player can have up to six skill ups if it survives long enough. If you can't think of at least five useful (non-doubles) skills that you'd want give to a player that it doesn't already have, it's a pretty good sign that you're either dealing with a Big Guy or with a player that has too many skills out of the box and needs to lose a few to provide room for expansion.
Joined: Apr 01, 2011
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 07:43
overarching gimmick: Big guys that don't block well, and stunties that do all the blocking.
Stab on linemen is due to fluff; I don't really mind if I lose it, but then I end up with 20k linemen (and only other way to increase their price is to up speed, which would be way too good, up AV, which I think is bad in stunty, or add more skills, which you don't seem to want).
Although, I suppose I could make them S 2, and drop the Roper to S 5, and drop stab off the Red Caps; but then I have S 2 with S access, which I'm not sure about in stunty.
The AV 10 bombardier is partially because I've almost never seen bombs in action, so that's an 'on paper' player. At the same time, I could live with it losing jump up, since it has A access anyway and could get it later.
The Roper, well, it has a lot of skills. But consider how useful they actually are; and compare to say a BoN or a Minotaur; it has about the same number as them, but in any sense of the word, the Ropers extra skills are simply not as useful; a big guy who can catch is interesting, but it's a gimmick, completely, and not a game breaking one. However, I don't mind giving up grab; I took that as a replacement for not having mighty blow (which, for a big guy, is a big problem).
One of the things about the team - the big guys are bad at getting cas, so they won't get SPP. The little guys are S1, so THEY won't last long enough to get SPP. The team is going to collect skills slower than most; so I didn't think having extra (not useful on the player who has it) starting skills would be a problem. Stab is obviously more controversial; but if the Red Cap gets one skill, say, Mighty Blow, will he really want to USE stab and not collect SPP? I think stab is specifically going to become less useful as the player gets more skills.
Joined: Aug 10, 2008
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 08:02
Multi Block is a Strength skill so the red caps would be a real terror at only one skill. They'd just stab everything to death and then collect spp's from scoring. Not that they need spp's as they'd be perfect at just one skill.
Joined: Apr 29, 2004
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 08:03
It seems like you should be directed to the
Animal teams FTW!
For most people, reason is nothing but their own believes.
Joined: Apr 01, 2011
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 08:14
hum. all right, stab seems to be too strong. I'll take that out.
Joined: Aug 11, 2010
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 08:38
" the Ropers extra skills are simply not as useful"
Then why does he have them? Just because? Giving him Extra Arms and Catch on top of 2 AG makes him a 6 ST ball carrier. Sure, he's only got 3 MV and Take Root, so the odds of him getting to the endzone are slim, but he can still carry the ball until he takes root and then hold it until the end of the half and then hand it off to someone else to score. You should drop the Extra Arms and Catch and lower his AG to 1.
Also, 6 ST on a guy that starts with Tentacles is crazy good. The Beast of Nurgle is great at holding guys down in regular Blood Bowl. This guy has 6 ST in a league were the average ST is 2. That's bonkers. He's also got Grab which is a fantastic skill for a Tentacle guy and a top pick skill for the Beast of Nurgle. This guy starts with it and has more ST than the Beast. The main draw of the Nurgling team is that they have two Beasts of Nurgle on their roster. This guy is far better than the Beast of Nurgle. This team would make the Nurgling team pretty redundant. Drop Grab and let players take it on a skill up later. Stand Firm is also a fantastic skill for a tentacle guy and is often the first or second pick for the Beast of Nurgle however, I don't think it's too good for this guy to start with it, so, in my opinion, it's OK to leave that one on.
Stab sucks in regular Blood Bowl, but the Stunty Leeg is full of guys that are AV 5-7, which makes it a very potent skill and far too good to put on the linemen. Plus, the main draw of the Forest Goblin team is the four stabbers on the roster. This team would make them redundant. Also, stabbers shouldn't get easy access to Multiple Block.
As Olesh said, an AV 10 bomber would be crazy good. I don't get why a gargoyle would have Bombardier anyway. Also, the Bombardier skill completely negates the drawbacks of the guy, which is his low MV and Take Root. Take Root isn't so bad when you have a long distance attack! I like the idea of a gargoyle roadblock, something similar to the Necromantic Flesh Golem. I don't like them having 5 MV and 10 AV, though. I think 4 MV and 9 AV would be better. 3 MV and 10 AV is a possibility, but that makes them too much like the Ropers. I like the Stand Firm, but not the Jump Up so much. Thick Skull is fine, too. I'd say give him S access instead of A access, too, since he's slow and strong.
The Night Masks look OK to me. The Red Caps need to loose stab. I don't know about a S access lineman, but I guess you could make it work.
Joined: Jan 13, 2011
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 09:29
Tentacles is better in stunty than in normal BB. And ST6 tentacles with stand firm and grab is the kind of thing you build a big guy towards in stunty. Starting with it makes them far too good, and that's ignoring AG2, catch, extra arms. I think your extra arms aspect is nice in terms of fluff, but I'd advise you to examine the roster as pure crunch, just to see what it looks like then.
I think it would be good to remove extra arms and catch from the ropers. If you leave them P access, you could still us that to make TTMers if you want. Other than that, I like the idea of a roper with tentacles and stand firm, but just making him ST5 and without grab would be fine. Or maybe (!) keep as is and make them MA2.
A side note: ST5 in S means you'll be rolling a lot of 3die blocks against AV 5-7 stunties. Yes they'll skill. Once you beat 3 stunties, you will (be able to) have mighty blow.
If you give the linemen S access, remove dodge.
I do like how the night masks are better than the redcaps, but have AV6 instead of 7.
Last edited by the_Sage on Feb 21, 2012 - 09:43; edited 2 times in total
Joined: Jun 24, 2010
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 09:29
Just for your own reference, I'd like you to take a look at Gnoblars
0-16 Gnoblar 6 1 3 7 Dodge, Right Stuff, Stunty A GSP 30k
This is a basic ST1 lineman. Brownies, on the fairie team, have an identical stat-line if you're curious.
Let's look at your revised Red Caps:
0-16 Red Cap 6 1 3 7 Dodge, Stunty, Right Stuff, Titchy, Sneaky Git, S GAP, 30k
Whether stunty linemen should have any access besides A or AM is neither here nor there -
your players have too many skills
I'll repeat this again.
Your players have too many skills.
Go here:
Read the rosters. The majority of players only have Dodge, Stunty, and, if they're a positional, one other skill. (Ignoring Right Stuff: players have Right Stuff if there's a Big Guy on the team with Throw Team-Mate as part of team design)
"Big Guys that don't block well" isn't a team gimmick. It's not even supported by your team design. Between Tentacles and Grab, your proposed "Ropers" will throw more blocks than most team Big Guys, and their odds of the blocks being successful are the same - without Mighty Blow to start, they'll be less likely to actually break armor but this is more than made up for by the fact that they get to tie down multiple stunties who have very little chance to escape, even if it takes root.
Similarly, saying "stunties do all the blocking" isn't a gimmick, it's a consequence of the fact that most players in stunty leeg are stunties.
Here's a team gimmick for you: "A team based around having lots of secret weapons but no big guys" - Goblin Cheaters. Or how about "A team where everyone has throw teammate or bomb", for Horrors of Tzeench. You could have a team where the gimmick is "This team has a lot of shadowing" or "The Big Guys are the ball carriers".
You don't actually have a gimmick, which is hurting your design at least as much as the inordinately excessive number of skills you have on all your players.
Edit: Submit is not Preview
Joined: Apr 01, 2011
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 09:36
hmm. I forget that titchy gives +1 dodge; I wanted the red caps to not have tackle zones (and yes I'm aware that doesn't affect stunties, but lots of teams have the rare guy who isn't stunty). I can't think of a simple way around that, so I'll drop titchy.
the argument about the roper ball carrier is a good one; I've dropped agi to 1.
I've dropped grab.
As a note on the Gargoyle: I'm pricing him as if he doesn't have take root, specifically because of bombardier, and I'm leaving him with A instead of S access specifically to avoid him becoming a blitzer. On the fluff side, gargoyles are quite nimble, when they are active; they just revert to stone on a semi-regular basis. These particular ones breathe balls of lightning and generally didn't actually hit things when they were with the wizard.
I actually hadn't realized brownies and gnoblars were 30k S1. Definitely have to revise that, and the Red Caps will just lose their skills.
current roper:
compare to treeman:
roper has +1 MA, catch, extra arms, P access
treeman has +2 AV, mighty blow, thick skull, no loner, no always hungry
(same number of skills, 2 more negatraits than treeman)
compare to BoN:
roper has +1S, catch, extra arms, throw teammate, no really stupid, P access
BoN has +1 MA, +1 AV, mighty blow, regeneration, (disturbing presence), foul appearance, no always hungry, no take root
(1 less skill, 1 more negatrait than BoN)
incidentally, I think comparing to Skyre Slaves, I'm now understanding why so many people are ranting about that team. Makes more sense, and the comments from this thread make more sense too coming from that point of view.
Last edited by Nelphine on Feb 21, 2012 - 10:04; edited 2 times in total
Joined: Jan 13, 2011
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 10:01
To be fair the Roper's AV8 goes some way towards balancing them. Chainsaws and foulers will be able to get at them reasonably well. Also, no thick skull and no regen helps there.
; Updates:
(because big banners are compensating)
Joined: Apr 01, 2011
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 10:02
he didn't have av8 before hand; after the comments, I thought it would make more sense, especially if I was dropping the gargoyle to 9.
Joined: Aug 11, 2010
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 19:12
I was thinking that what you could do with this team is make it a really good road block team. A team that is really good at stopping other teams in their tracks. You've got four stand firm guys, two of which have tentacles. You've also got the 7 MV shadowers that people can put diving tackle on. That got me thinking that a good skill to put on the Red Caps instead of stab would be Diving Tackle. If that's too strong, then have them start with Side Step so everyone would take Diving Tackle as their first skill. This would make them a difficult team to get past and give them a decent theme.
I still don't like bombardier on the gargoyles, though as it makes Take Root pretty pointless. I love the idea of gargoyles turning to stone. Take Root is a pretty nasty negatrait and the gargoyles should get something good to balance it, but bombardier just makes so when they Take Root, they can just throw bombs all over the place. How about giving the gargoyles Grab? That way, when they get in someone's way and Take Root, they can still keep them next to the gargoyle.
Joined: Aug 21, 2008
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 19:17
FUMBBL Staff
I love the fluff of the team, great work on that. The team does seem quite strong on first glance, I think most of the balance issues have been covered by others. One small point, for the next update can you post the stat line as 3/5/2/8 for e.g., easier to read without MA, ST, etc.
Joined: Apr 01, 2011
  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 23:41
MisterFurious, when I imagined the Gargoyles first, I specifically thought of Bombardier; and then when I was thinking about lore, Take Root was added in both for fluff and so that people wouldn't plan around them being the primary ball carriers (because that is what the stunties are for). As I mentioned previously, I would specifically ignore Take Root when considering the Gargoyle, and then think of that as something added on at the end. (For instance, normally take root is associated with S 6 monsters, and the only way to justify the awesome strength is with a super negatrait like take root or secret weapon; but in this case, I don't really have anything that needs a super negatrait, and it's only for fluff/overall team feel that take root is in at all. I think I could probably even justify (from a pure mechanical point of view, which I would not ever do), simply taking take root away from the gargoyles; but I won't do that.)
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Difference between revisions of "Firewalls"
(→ufw: retooled and updated)
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==== Deleting Applications
==== Deleting Applications ====
Drawing on the Deluge/Deluge-my example above, the following will remove the standard Deluge rules and replace them with the Deluge-my rules from the above example:
Drawing on the Deluge/Deluge-my example above, the following will remove the standard Deluge rules and replace them with the Deluge-my rules from the above example:
Revision as of 12:10, 17 July 2011
A firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network (which could be just one machine). Firewalls can be implemented in only hardware or software, or a combination of both. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially intranets. All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and allows, proxys, or denies the traffic based on specified security criteria.
There is a nice list of firewalls here.
There are many posts on the forums about different firewall apps and scripts so here they all are condensed into one page - please add your comments about each firewall, especially ease of use and a security check at Shields Up.
- 1 iptables
- 2 iptables front-ends
- 3 iptables GUIs
- 4 Firewall Builder
The Linux kernel itself has very powerful firewall called iptables. Other firewalls are usually just frontends.
See the iptables article for more information.
More info:
- Simple stateful firewall
- Router
- man iptables http://unixhelp.ed.ac.uk/CGI/man-cgi?iptables+8
- http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Masquerading-Simple-HOWTO/
- http://netfilter.org/documentation/HOWTO/NAT-HOWTO.html
- http://www.frozentux.net/documents/iptables-tutorial/
iptables front-ends
Arno's Firewall
Arno's IPTABLES Firewall Script is a secure firewall for both single and multi-homed machines.
The script:
- EASY to configure and highly customizable
- daemon script included
- a filter script that makes your firewall log more readable
- NAT and SNAT
- port forwarding
- ADSL ethernet modems with both static and dynamically assigned IPs
- MAC address filtering
- stealth port scan detection
- DMZ and DMZ-2-LAN forwarding
- protection against SYN/ICMP flooding
- extensive user definable logging with rate limiting to prevent log flooding
- all IP protocols and VPNs such as IPSec
- plugin support to add extra features.
ferm (which stands for "For Easy Rule Making") is a tool to maintain complex firewalls, without having the trouble to rewrite the complex rules over and over again. ferm allows the entire firewall rule set to be stored in a separate file, and to be loaded with one command. The firewall configuration resembles structured programming-like language, which can contain levels and lists.
FireHOL is a language to express firewalling rules, not just a script that produces some kind of a firewall. It makes building even sophisticated firewalls easy - the way you want it. The result is actually iptables rules.
Template:Codeline is available in the community repository.
Firetable is an iptables-based firewall with "human readable" syntax.
Template:Codeline is available in AUR.
gShield is a really simple iptables configuration system. (Nothing to do with gnome) Easy to configure, blocks everything not needed (almost) by default. Controlled by only one configuration file. It gave me all stealth on grc.com
Template:Codeline is available in AUR.
- Easy to configure
- Only one configuration file
- Will give you a iptables configuration, which is the best firewall
- No GUI
The Shoreline Firewall, more commonly known as "Shorewall", is high-level tool for configuring Netfilter. You describe your firewall/gateway requirements using entries in a set of configuration files. Shorewall reads those configuration files and with the help of the iptables utility, Shorewall configures Netfilter to match your requirements. Shorewall can be used on a dedicated firewall system, a multi-function gateway/router/server or on a standalone GNU/Linux system. Shorewall does not use Netfilter's ipchains compatibility mode and can thus take advantage of Netfilter's connection state tracking capabilities.
Template:Codeline is available in the Template:Codeline repository.
uruk loads an rc file, which defines network service access policy, and invokes iptables to set up firewall rules implementing this policy.
uruk is not available in any Arch Linux repository.
ufw (uncomplicated firewall) is a simple frontend for iptables and is available in [community]. The next two sections are simply high-level explanations and examples. Users are encouraged to consult the Ubuntu Firewall Help page for additional details.
Basic Configuration
A very simplistic configuration which will deny all by default, allow any protocol from inside a 192.168.0.1-192.168.0.255 LAN, and allow incoming Deluge and SSH traffic from any where.:
# ufw default deny # ufw allow from 192.168.0.0/24 # ufw allow Deluge # ufw allow SSH
The next line is only need once the first time you install the package. From there on out, control it via the standard rc.d script (i.e. rc.d start ufw):
# ufw enable
Finally, query the rules being applied via the status command:
# ufw status
Status: active To Action From -- ------ ---- Anywhere ALLOW 192.168.0.0/24 Deluge ALLOW Anywhere SSH ALLOW Anywhere
Adding Other Applications
The PKG comes with some defaults based on the default ports of many common daemons and programs. Inspect the options by looking in the /etc/ufw/applications.d directory or by listing them in the program itself:
# ufw app list
If users are running any of the applications on a non-standard port, it is recommended to simply make Template:Filename containing the needed data using the defaults as a guide.
Example, deluge with custom ports that range from 20202-20205:
[Deluge-my] title=Deluge description=Deluge BitTorrent client ports=20202:20205/tcp
Should you require to define both tcp and udp ports for the same application, simply separate them with a pipe as shown: this app opens tcp ports 10000-10002 and udp port 10003
Deleting Applications
Drawing on the Deluge/Deluge-my example above, the following will remove the standard Deluge rules and replace them with the Deluge-my rules from the above example:
# ufw delete allow Deluge # ufw allow Deluge-my
Query the result via the status command:
# ufw status
Status: active To Action From -- ------ ---- Anywhere ALLOW 192.168.0.0/24 SSH ALLOW Anywhere Deluge-my ALLOW Anywhere
Vuurmuur Vuurmuur is a powerful firewall manager built on top of iptables. It has a simple and easy to learn configuration that allows both simple and complex configurations. The configuration can be fully configured through an ncurses GUI, which allows secure remote administration through SSH or on the console. Vuurmuur supports traffic shaping, has powerful monitoring features, which allow the administrator to look at the logs, connections and bandwidth usage in realtime.
Template:Codeline and is available in AUR.
iptables GUIs
Firestarter is a good GUI for iptables, it has the ability to use both white and black lists for regulating traffic, it is very simple and easy to use, with good documentation available on their website.
Firestarter has gnome dependencies and is available in AUR.
Guarddog is a really easy to use GUI for configuring iptables. After setting up a basic desktop configuration it passes all Shields Up tests perfectly.
Guarddog requires kdelibs3 and is available in the AUR repository.
To have the firewall settings applied at bootup you must run /etc/rc.firewall from inside /etc/rc.local or something similar.
Gufw is an easy to use Ubuntu / Linux firewall, powered by ufw.
Gufw is an easy, intuitive, way to manage your Linux firewall. It supports common tasks such as allowing or blocking pre-configured, common p2p, or individual ports port(s), and many others! Gufw is powered by ufw , runs on Ubuntu, and anywhere else Python, GTK, and Ufw are available.
KMyFirewall is KDE3 GUI for iptables.
Firewall editing capabilities are simple enough to use to be suitable for beginners, but also allow for sophisticated tweaking of the firewall settings.
KMyFirewall requires kdelibs3 and is available in AUR.
Firewall Builder
Firewall Builder is "a GUI firewall configuration and management tool that supports iptables (netfilter), ipfilter, pf, ipfw, Cisco PIX (FWSM, ASA) and Cisco routers extended access lists. [...] The program runs on Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Windows and Mac OS X and can manage both local and remote firewalls." Source: http://www.fwbuilder.org/
Template:Codeline is available in the Template:Codeline repository.


text:
The Art of Vegetables: Camera in the Cupboard
- Location: online only
- Website: camerainthecupboard.com
Speaking of the drama of vegetables, how about these painterly photographs from Stephen J. Weinstein? These are some seriously gorgeous pumpkins!
When Stephen wrote and introduced himself, he told me, "I guess I could be called the "Veggie Hunter." I scour farmers markets looking for unusual varieties of
vegetables. Not just to eat them, but to photograph them. So far I've discovered the The French bull heart cabbage, the the flying saucer pattypan squash, and the lemon cucumber. They not only are intriguing subjects for my photography, but they also taste good." That's a multi-use approach to vegetables that I can applaud!
Stephen's photography takes its inspiration from 17th century still-life painters, with their dark shadows and backgrounds and emphasis on rich lighting. These photos truly celebrate autumn vegetables in all their natural glory.
Pictured above:
• Spaghetti squash, Acorn squash, Asian pears
• Daikon radishes, Red cabbage
• Garlic scapes
• Spaghetti and Butternut squash, parsnips, Habanero peppers
• Bosc pears, aged Gruyere, Pain De Champagne
These are available as prints through Stephen's website. The high-quality prints are priced at $30 and up.
Related: Kitchen Art: The Splendiferous Array of Culinary Tools
(All images Stephen J. Weinstein/Camera in the Cupboard)


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I was on a customer visit once, and my colleague started to say "you have to see it from our point of view..." and the customer cut him off: "Listen, pal: me customer, you supplier. You have to see it from my point of view, I don't have to see it from your point of view." 'Nuff said?
Unless they're tied in to a single customer, suppliers most certainly also have a choice to take their business elsewhere. Good business deals come from win/win situations, and win/win situations come from both parties understanding each other. I'm sure the customer in your anecdote found it satisfying to demean his supplier, but if that's how he treats all his suppliers, he might not be in business for very long.
Steve, thank you for pointing to your blog. Very interesting blog.I totally agree with your article. Short term view hiding the long term. They simply opened the door to a more robust competitive landscape, after they owned the digital photography market.Competition is good. Corel is jumping in. I hope Apple will at some juncture. Google started with Picasa (img management ) and Nik for processing. Microsoft should re-awaken its own efforts (photo editor? ICE?). All these are formidable competitors. For, Aperture + Pixelmator are satisfying 95% of my needs. For the remaining 5%, i fire up my old PC and photoshop them. Hoping soon to become 100% independent from Adobe.
Nice article Steve, I liked your take on it. As do I like the OP's. This may be the first post I have made regarding this whole CC thingLike many things happening these days, the whole thing is perplexing, but I cannot shake the feeling that other software companies are going to jump on the band wagon and do the same thing very soon. It also appears that the days of the PC are coming to an end, where all we will have is a terminal and an internet connection. Renting, just like cable TV boxes. It is all very disheartening really. I like to own things & have control over how I use them. I have no idea what I will do once once CS-6 fails to work for me, or LR becomes a CC only thing. Will I get on the bus? Dunno. By then perhaps an alternative solution will present itself. Where will still imaging be when that time comes? Maybe I will just say Screw it and be happy with my Fuji Jpegs or quit photography all together? I know one thing for certain, I am not going to spend countless hours fretting over it or complaining on internet forums. I also doubt Adobe is going to change their minds about this. I'll keep an eye on things & see where the whole thing goes. Making adjustments as things progress. I don't see any other option.
Why only CS3 and above? Why do only owners of previous versions of PS get to pay just the upgrade fee? Same principle, really. It's a reward for loyalty. It's the same principle for any software, really.WRT the 'used' software market, there really isn't a comparison to the used gear market. I've never bought software second-hand but I do buy a lot of gear that way. There just isn't the same market for used software. The linked article posited the idea that Adobe would he hurt by the idea of a drop in the, virtually non-existent, used software market. How? How does Adobe benefit from it now? Adobe doesn't make any money when software trades between users. Upgrade fees? How many people who buy used software, of the few who do already, are going to then upgrade via Adobe rather than wait for someone to offer up the next version on the second-hand market?I'm certainly not a fan of this shift in practice by Adobe, although I did eventually sign on; but the lack of logic and reasoning that so many display in their opposition is astounding.
1. So, because you never have personally or seen it personally, then it doesn't exist? I love it when someone uses the word "logic" while breeching a couple fallacies in the process. It pretty much sets the table.
2. If the software market were non-existent than you wouldn't see millions of copies being sold on Amazon, about the same on Ebay, and used software stores near every college campus. You might want to consider visiting one for your next software purchase.
3. I was shocked by your apparent inability to connect the dots. My bad.. Anyway, upgrade fees as you mention would be one t though you must be careful the copy you're buying hasn't already been upgraded from. But mostly people starting out with an old bike often graduate to new bikes as they become more successful. Old cars to new cars. Small houses to big houses. It's a way IN that gives people a chance to love photography and prioritize it in their expenditure lists. It's also a smart buy for those who are otherwise strapped and buying new now.. they could have saved enough for a new lens or strobe or whatever. Software is a necessary piece of equipment just like a camera, computer, or anything else you use for business.
4. That sir is just plan rude..
How many people who buy used software, of the few who do already, are going to then upgrade via Adobe rather than wait for someone to offer up the next version on the second-hand market?
I didn't say it didn't exist at all. I didn't say I'd not seen it. Read what was written.
What you see is software being offered. And yes, I'm aware of it. Again, I didn't say completely non-existent. But just because software is being offered, doesn't mean it's being sold. Frankly, I wouldn't buy used software. There is no way to know if it's legitimate or not. Or if the seller has, as is often required, properly deregistered the copy being sold so that the new user can properly register it. And before you respond I'm not saying all are like that.
No, I did address it. Your shock is entirely misplaced. I posed a question which you did not answer. Probably because you don't have an answer. I wouldn't expect you would. I don't either. Which makes your old to new argument quite a bit weaker and your 'often' supposition just that, a supposition. There are also people who also always buy a used car.
Oh bloody hell. "Betcha didn't think of that Mr. I Want A Steady Income Stream so badly I didn't even see that coming.. " That's a pretty rude comment. As is this, "Betcha never saw it coming because your eyes were only looking ahead to your next annual investors report,"
Sorry, but when used software is being offered in such huge markets as Ebay, Amazon, used books stores worldwide, not to mention LARGE stores set up just to sell used software.. you just can't say their products aren't being sold. They're at least being sold enough to make them worth these rather large venues. Which would be considerable. I'm happy for you that you never needed to buy used software, but there are an awful lot of people out there who do either because they cant afford it.. or only because its a smart business move.
Sorry...but the odds are real good in the case of Ebay and Amazon (not Amazon direct) the "used" or OEM software you buy is bogus and pirated...To be clear, it's real difficult to buy legit used software...the seller has to jump through hoops and sign a "letter of destruction" (LOD) and the new buyer needs to register the software to be able to move forward with upgrades. Many users sell off an upgrade as a full version or sell their full version after upgrading their license. Both of which are bogus...Yes, there was a market for used software, but by and large it was grey or black market and resulted in the buyer getting burned...And, yes, that will be irrevocably changed with Adobe selling subscriptions...personally, I have no problem with bogus and pirated software getting screwed by the subscription model.Software is, at it's root, intellectual property and as an author of IP (photos, software and books) illegal pirating is a scourge...Buying "used software" is nowhere close to buying tangible personal property...it's far more complicated and more likely to be a shady deal.
I did. I think my response was fair given what you wrote.
Sorry, but when used software is being offered in such huge markets as Ebay, Amazon, used books stores worldwide, not to mention LARGE stores set up just to sell used software.. you just can't say their products aren't being sold. They're at least being sold enough to make them worth these rather large venues. Which would be considerable. I'm happy for you that you never needed to buy used software, but there are an awful lot of people out there who do either because they cant afford it.. or only because its a smart]business move.
To be honest I don't usually don't honour a rude response by responding to their answer to my question with a question of their own. It wouldn't matter anyway as I can see from the rest of your responses, you would just deny deny deny anyway.. which is fine, you're entitled to your opinion.. even if it is misplaced.
And now you can't see the difference between responding to a large corporation via editorial and responding directly to a person because you didn't agree with them. More of your "logic" via convoluted syllogism at work. Hint: "Reasoning" is different than "logic." It's okay to reason all you want, it only shows an individuals train of thought, right, wrong or different. But when you label it "logic" then it needs to follow the rules.


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T-Mobile says BlackBerry 10 testing well for mid-march debut
NEW YORK -- T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest U.S. mobile-service provider, says its tests of the new BlackBerry Z10 are going well, and it's aiming to be the first American carrier "out of the gate" with the phone next month.
"The device is more stable than we anticipated," said Frank Sickinger, head of business sales at T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom. "If we are able to speed up the launch date, we will do that. Right now it's looking like mid-March."
The encouraging words come a week after BlackBerry unveiled the new phone, which is already on sale in Britain and Canada. BlackBerry, formerly known as Research In Motion Ltd., didn't give a firm U.S. release date, saying the Z10 would be available sometime in March. That raised concern among investors, who drove down BlackBerry's stock 17 percent in the two days after the debut event.
The United States is BlackBerry's largest single market, and the company is counting on the new phone to win back customers lost to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android. After pioneering the smartphone industry, BlackBerry has seen its share of the market fall to the single digits.
While the price of the Z10 hasn't been determined yet, Sickinger said the $199 price BlackBerry announced Jan. 30 is consistent with what T-Mobile USA has considered. T-Mobile USA, based in Bellevue, Wash., should be able to offer the Z10 to business customers about a week before retail sales start, Sickinger said.
For T-Mobile USA, which is merging with MetroPCS Communications Inc., the Z10 could provide a new way to woo customers -- especially business users. The carrier has been struggling to keep pace with rivals Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. Still, all the big carriers eventually plan to offer the new phone. BlackBerry, based in Waterloo, Ontario, said last week that lengthier testing procedures were behind the longer wait for the product in the U.S.
T-Mobile USA Chief Executive Officer John Legere has vowed to shake up the industry with measures such as selling phones on installment plans, rather than the typical approach of subsidizing the devices in return for two-year commitments.
In business services, where AT&T and Verizon dominate, Sickinger sees an opportunity to build on T-Mobile USA's 5.5 percent market share. The arrival of new devices like the BlackBerry Z10 will help win business customers, he said. T- Mobile also will offer Apple's iPhone later this year for the first time.
"I'm glad to see BlackBerry launch a relevant product," Sickinger said. "BlackBerry stands to do very well in 2013 with T-Mobile."
BlackBerry shares rose 5.7 percent to $16.96 at the close in New York.


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Bulldogs Visit Union, RPI
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The last games before a month-long break for the Yale women's ice hockey team take place this weekend, as the Bulldogs travel to ECAC Hockey rivals Union (Friday, 7:00 p.m.) and RPI (Saturday, 4:00 p.m.). Yale is currently part of a four-way tie for ninth in the conference, and the Bulldogs could move into position for one of the league's eight playoff spots this weekend.
Yale (2-10-0, 1-5-0 ECAC Hockey) had last weekend off. The Bulldogs last played on Nov. 24, when they lost to No. 5/6 Boston College in the Nutmeg Classic championship game. It was the seventh time in the tournament's nine-year history that Yale had played for the title; the Bulldogs made it to the title game by beating UConn 4-3 in overtime on a goal by freshman defenseman Kate Martini (King City, Ont.). She now leads the team in points (3-5-8).
The win over UConn also saw junior forward Paige Decker (New Preston, Conn.) score her first career goal, making her the sixth player this year to score her first career goal (joining Martini, freshman forward Janelle Ferrara (Winthrop, Mass.), senior defenseman Jamie Gray (Calgary, Alta.), freshman forward Jamie Haddad (Wilbraham, Mass.) and freshman forward Hanna Åström (Örnsköldsvik, Sweden).
Sophomore goaltender Jaimie Leonoff (Montreal, Que.) made a season-high 50 saves in the Nutmeg Classic championship game, and her 441 saves for the season place her third in the country behind Danielle Butters of Minnesota State (555) and Nicole Paniccia of Penn State (500). Leonoff has helped Yale lower its goals allowed per game down to 3.50 this season, an improvement of more than a goal per game over last season (5.24 per game). Leonoff has a .915 save percentage and a 3.41 goals-against average.
Union (3-8-2, 0-4-2 ECAC Hockey) is also part of that four-way tie for ninth in the conference, as the Dutchwomen have earned points by tying Princeton and Quinnipiac. Union and Yale split the season series last year, with the Bulldogs winning 3-2 in overtime at Ingalls Rink on a goal by junior forward Jackie Raines (London, Ont.). Union responded with a 2-0 shutout at Messa Rink behind 34 saves from Kate Gallagher. Shenae Lundberg has now taken over as Union's goalie and has a .910 save percentage and a 2.83 goals-against average. Forward Christine Valente leads the team in goals and is tied for the team lead in points (4-3-7). All of her goals, and 10 of Union's 19 goals for the year, have come on the power play. Valente has already tied the school record for power play goals in a season.
RPI (3-11-2, 1-5-0 ECAC Hockey), which hosts Brown Friday night, is also in that four-way tie for ninth. The Engineers picked up two conference points by beating Princeton 4-3 last Saturday. RPI had been winless (0-6-1) in seven straight games prior to that. Forward Alex Gruschow leads the team in goals and points (8-5-13). Kelly O'Brien has a .889 save percentage and a 2.87 goals-against average.
Game Info:
- Live Stats Friday, 7:00 p.m. at Union
- Live Video Friday, 7:00 p.m. at Union
- Directions to Union's Messa Rink
- Live Stats Saturday, 4:00 p.m. at RPI
- Directions to RPI's Houston Field House
More Info:
Report by Sam Rubin '95 (email@example.com), Yale Sports Publicity
Be the first to know what's going on with the Bulldogs -- Follow @YaleAthletics on Twitter, become a fan of Yale Athletics on Facebook!


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10 Vegetarian Main Dishes for a Party
Earlier today I showed you my vegetarian dinner party, where for the main course I served a creamy watercress soup with lemony-goat cheese dumplings. If you're looking for other festive vegetarian main dishes to serve at a party, here are a few ideas. From corn and black bean tostadas to asparagus risotto, you can get as fancy or laid-back as you want.
- 1 Corn, Tomato & Black Bean Tostadas with Creamy Cilantro Dressing
- 2 Lemony Pesto Pasta with Edamame and Almonds
- 3 Spring Lemon Risotto with Asparagus and Fiddlehead Ferns
- 4 Vegetarian Lasagna with a Surprise Ingredient
- 5 Warm Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Fontina
- 6 Edamame & Cauliflower Pasta Salad with Feta
- 7 Creamy Butternut Squash Orzotto (Barley Risotto) with Toasted Pecans
- 8 Pizza with Crispy Kale, Butternut Squash, Bacon & Smoked Mozzarella (leave off the bacon!)
- 9 Black Bean Edamame Burgers
- 10 Lentil, Mushroom, and Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie
What are you favorite vegetarian dishes to serve at a party?
This post was requested by 313jillybean for Reader Request Week 2013.
(Images: See linked recipes for full image credits)


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The Fish & Wildlife Department announced that the public hearing on deer management formerly scheduled for Montpelier High School on March 27 is now going to be held that night in Room 11 at the State House, 115 State Street in Montpelier.
This is one of three annual deer management public hearings being held this month. Two more will be held later this spring. The meetings will cover last year's harvest results and the prospects for the 2013 season. Two more hearings will be held in the northeast and southwest regions of the state in May.
These hearings will also be an opportunity for the department to seek additional hunter input for Vermont's comprehensive deer management review plan. The department has already hosted one set of meetings on the review plan in January, and plans to host two more sets of meetings in May and July.
In addition to these public meetings, the department will also review public input surveys and develop three regional working groups to discuss deer management and hunting regulations in Vermont.
Hunters are invited to attend one of the following public hearings, held from 7-9 p.m.
March 25, Springfield – Riverside Junior High School Cafeteria, 13 Fairground Road, Springfield
March 27, Montpelier -State House, Room 11, 115 State Street, Montpelier
March 28, St Albans – St. Albans Town Educational Center Cafeteria, 169 South Main Street, St. Albans, VT (This is a nut product free zone)
Anyone interested in learning more about Vermont's comprehensive deer management review process and the regional working groups should visit the department's website www.vtfishandwildlife.com.


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WORCESTER – With the testimony of his brother and niece on Wednesday, the prosecution continued attempts to prove that Nicolas Dutan Guaman was drunk when he caused the crash that killed Milford resident Matthew Denice - while the defense disputed their recollections.
Guaman, 37, an illegal immigrant from Ecuador, is on trial in Worcester Superior Court on a second-degree murder charge for the Aug. 20, 2011 crash when police say he struck 23-year-old Denice, who was on a motorcycle, and dragged him for a quarter of a mile to his death.
Pablo Dutan Guaman, who himself had faced a charge in Milford District Court for allowing his brother to drive the pickup truck used in the crash, took the stand Wednesday. He testified to his brother's state that day, the Ecuadorian culture and on his brother's understanding of English.
"He was drunk," said Pablo, who had been drinking with his brother on the afternoon before the crash. "He was weaving from side to side. He couldn't walk."
Defense attorney Peter Ettenberg questioned Pablo on both the amount he'd had to drink that day - which he admitted was 12 beers from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. when his brother arrived at his home - and the fact that the charges against him were dropped by the state for his testimony in this trial.
Guaman's 12-year-old niece, who called the police to report him for driving drunk prior to the crash, also took the stand. She testified that her uncle was drunk prior to driving away in his truck with his 6-year-old son in the back seat.
"I told him not to go in the truck because his dad was drunk," Vivian Choro Caguana recalled telling her young cousin. "He was tilting. He smelled like beer."
Ettenberg questioned the girl on how much she was really paying attention to how much her father and uncle were drinking.
"You really don't know how much Nicolas had to drink," Ettenberg said.
Both sides also tried to use the testimony of the witnesses, which included Guaman's niece and brother, to get a sense of Guaman's cultural and language background.
Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Travers questioned Guaman on whether stop signs and police cars look the same in Ecuador as they do in the United States.
"I don't know if he understands the word stop," said Pablo following questioning from Travers.
Ettenberg asked Pablo whether police, or people posing as police, were known to pull people over and beat them in Ecuador. Pablo answered that he didn't know.
State Medical Examiner William Zane also took the stand. He described Denice's extensive injuries to the court, which included nearly all of his ribs being broken on the left side of his body, large scrapes horizontally across his torso, an abrasion on his left hip that exposed some of his bowel and other abrasions all over his body.
Ultimately, Zane testified that Denice's cause of death was due to multiple fractures, lacerations of major organs and asphyxia from "pressure on his chest or stomach for a significant amount of time."
Zane, answering a question from the prosecutor, said it is unlikely that Denice lost consciousness at any point.
The prosecution is expected to finish calling their witnesses on Thursday. The defense will then present its case.
For live updates from the courtroom throughout this trial, follow Lindsay Corcoran on Twitter @LacorcMDN.
Denice case: Guaman's brother, niece say he was drunk
WORCESTER – With the testimony of his brother and niece on Wednesday, the prosecution continued attempts to prove that Nicolas Dutan Guaman was drunk when he caused the crash that killed Milford resident Matthew Denice - while the defense disputed their recollections.


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LONDON (AP) — Detectives are probing "very serious" allegations that a police officer fabricated claims against a U.K. lawmaker who was forced to quit a Cabinet post after being accused of insulting police with the term "pleb," the prime minister said Wednesday.
Andrew Mitchell quit as the government's chief whip after he was accused of hurling the word "pleb" at officers who stopped him from riding his bicycle through the Downing Street gates in September. Mitchell admitted swearing, but denied calling anyone a "pleb" — a demeaning reference to working-class people that touched a nerve in this class-conscious country.
Last week, a police officer from the diplomatic protection squad was arrested for alleged misconduct in public office. Channel 4 News has claimed the officer emailed his local lawmaker falsely pretending to be a member of the public who had witnessed the altercation. The email claimed Mitchell had sworn repeatedly and called officers "plebs," shocking passers-by.
"A police officer posing as a member of the public and sending an email potentially to blacken the name of a Cabinet minister is a very serious issue and does need to be seriously investigated," British Prime Minister David Cameron told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Channel 4 News also showed CCTV footage Tuesday that appeared to contradict the officer's claim that there were other witnesses to the spat.
The Metropolitan Police said 30 officers had been assigned to investigate the incident. "It goes to the very heart of the public's trust in the police service," the force said in a statement.
The statement said both the force and the police watchdog were investigating the arrested officer's conduct and whether there was any evidence of a conspiracy between the arrested officer and anyone else.
Allies of Mitchell said there is mounting evidence he had been falsely accused, and called for him to return to the Cabinet. He resigned as chief whip a month after the Downing St. altercation but remains a member of Parliament.
The lawmaker admitted swearing, but strongly denied using the word "pleb," which reinforced a perception of the governing Conservative Party as elitist and lacking empathy with the poor.
"I would never call someone a (expletive) pleb," Mitchell told Channel 4 news on Tuesday. "Anyone who knows me well would know that it is absolutely not in me to use phrases like that."


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when do you consider a deed of absolute sale simulated?
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Skip to comments.CA: 'Yes' Votes Prevail on Proposition 30 ( numbers on all of the propositions & a Map)
Posted on 11/08/2012 10:23:30 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Votes supporting a ballot measure to fund education backed by Gov. Jerry Brown outpolled "no" votes, with 100 percent of precincts reporting. Refresh this page for the latest updates.
(Excerpt) Read more at westhollywood.patch.com ...
Prop 30 takes more tax from those earning over a quarter million per year...This would affect more who live on the coastal plain than inland.
..........and increases the sales tax.
If I recall, the Disney purchase of LucasFilm was supposedly completed this year instead of next year to avoid some possible tax issues. Is this type of sale considered income for state tax purposes (or is it a capital gain)? How about all those Facebook investors? Is that covered too?
Doesn't the retroactive part mean that the tax hit will be huge this time? People probably didn't adjust for it.
It's retroactive to January 1 2012...
My complaint is the sales tax increase that hits every one....I think that makes it 10.5 %...if I am not mistaken.
To be honest 1/4 cent up sales tax does not bother us too much, as we only purchase what is necessary anyway, and are able to get around it occasionally anyway.
BTW, my heating and cooling bills are extremely low due to the Mediterranean style weather.
Might be a way to get something out of the Democrats that is useful.
Just a little increase; just like the frog in the pot set to boil. This is not the first sales tax increase. You have to starve the addiction in sacramento and let the pols cut spending.
When gas prices go up, sacramento will have a windfall and they will provide more public services counter to having people show individual responsibility.
The system is cyclical just like the bribery inherent in public unions campaign contributions to those with whom the negotiate their contracts.
We will not be able to do this in our lifetime. When people cote higher taxes to get more beanies, we are doomed.
Cal is bankrupt and continues on the same course. We cannot pay enough taxes o do what the dems want to do.
We are paying 12-16 billion a year in services to illegals and making it easier all the time for them to be here.
Got news for ya, the entire country is bankrupt and broke..Thanks to corrupt government at all levels, coast to coast.
In fact, the U.S. is in the hole about 16 trillion, that's trillion with a T, as opposed to a few billion in CA.
To put things in brutal prospective, it take 100 billion to make just 1 trillion....lol
The U.S. Government better invest in nuclear powered printing presses, and the old ones are smoking and burning through the floors.
Sorry to make you have to nit pik.
However, the income tax portion of prop 30 was advertised as
a good old taxing of the rich. Heard Moonbeam on the radio
Sorry about your grandkids situation but 40% of the state
tax going to education should be enough. Top heavy at the
administrative level and overloaded with dubious programs,
the kids in the classroom are paying the price.
Oh, I agree with you. It seems no amount of money is ever enough for these people.
This link is great. I have added it to my don't do business with blue states to help people decide if they want to business with California companies.
Unless you want America to be like CalifornicatingU land, the rest of America needs to separate the blue state pos's from your money.
Start a boycott, buycott or avoidcott with the Blue States.
Dont buy a product made or raised in a blue state unless you have proof its owners are not left wingers.
Dont vacation in, or have conventions or business meetings in, Democrat blue states. Start with Nevada until the casino bosses get rid of Reid and send him home to have more time with his family.
Dont visit CalifornicatorU land. Dont go to Follywood movies and stay away from our products except those produced or raised by conservatives.
How do you determine if the California business is probably ok? Go to this interactive map and checkout the county the business is in. If the business, farm, ranch is in a red county, they might be ok.:
Avoid NY City like it has the plague. It has the terminal Bloomberg mental illness.
The Blue Staters hate you, your religion, your belief system, and your priorities in life, like your family members and friends. Let the Blue Staters try to live without your $s.
Let the blue states sink on their own!
Save your charity $'s for red state people when disasters hits their area.
Got news for ya, the entire country is bankrupt and broke..Thanks to corrupt government at all levels, coast to coast.
In fact, the U.S. is in the hole about 16 trillion, that's trillion with a T, as opposed to a few billion in CA.
And my error here: To put things in brutal prospective, it takes 1000 billion to make just 1 trillion
The U.S. Government better invest in nuclear powered printing presses, as the old ones are smoking and burning through the floors.
Why aren't the greenies also complaining about how many trees this will kill?
Because most leftist are brainwashed, mentally ill, shortsighted, hypocrites, want America to suffer or they are just plain stupid lumberheads...
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Here is to hoping I don't get negged for shameless self promotion... I really want some input from all of the other webmasters
I've been spending a lot of time trying to gather content for my web site (Network Security / Tutorials / Book Reviews / Forums / etc) ...Its been a good start so far but I was hoping I could start a thread discussing mothods of getting fresh new content to keep people coming back.
So far I've been going back through all the things *I* learned from and contacting the authors to see if I can include it (with link back and full credit of course) on my site - I've had pretty good responce with this method but some request payment.
I've also contacted many authors and senior members of this site requesting to republish their tutorials on my site (again - great response there).
What are YOUR thoughts on:
- best methods of obtaining interesting, focused content
[Free content... as this is a free site.. not a business]
- methods of generating activity on forums
- suggestion on 'teaching' methods when it comes to buffer overflows, intrusion detection/prevention, penetration testing, etc.
Thanks for your input,


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The autumn winter line 2012 from Fleur of England features five new dazzlingly provocative collections each exuding a very different mood. Show here, Tiger is a striking red colour – symbolizing sex, passion and power. Lace with tiger stripes is combined with sheer panels of Italian tulle, blaze silk and gold fittings.
My favourite piece from this collection is the innovative camisole with suspender (image above and last) It has a flattering racer back and lace / sheer front with a sweetheart style shape around the neckline where the lace patterning begins. I'm already seeing this as outerwear potential, styled underneath denim and perhaps with a blazer.
A padded balcony bra and brief (image above) and plunge bra and thong complete the collection.
Other new designs include Berry Kiss (romantic), Dotty (playful), Pandora (fiercely feminine) and the luxurious Snow Queen (to be released). The latter is described to me as an elegant world of winter whites, decadent with a timeless touch. This series includes a boudoir gown and playsuit – I'll be posting this collection fit for royalty later in the year, just in time for the holiday season, Blog Reader.


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Championship Central
Final Results
Day Three Photos
After three days of competition, the Texas A&M men and Texas women claimed crowns at the 2012 Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field crowns. It is the Aggies second-straight outdoor title as the team completed an indoor and outdoor sweep for the second year in a row. The Longhorn women break a five-year streak of TAMU team titles as they garner their first team crown since 2006. It is Texas' seventh overall outdoor title.
With seven individual titles on the day, TAMU's win on the men's side was secured by a 19-point lead over Texas. Oklahoma came in third with 91 points. The top three team finishes were parallel to a year ago at the meet. Kansas State garnered fourth place after recording 75 points, while Texas Tech ended the championship in fifth (72 points). Baylor and Oklahoma State shared sixth place with 65 points apiece and Kansas (64), Iowa State (54) and Missouri (52) rounded out the men's standings, respectively.
For the women, placing second with nine and a half points behind Texas was Kansas. The runner-up finish was the highest in program history at the Big 12 meet. The Jayhawks previous best was a fourth-place showing in 2008. Texas A&M trailed in third, one point behind KU while Baylor finished with 72 total points to place fourth. Texas Tech rounded out the top five with 71 points. Oklahoma (63), Missouri (60), Iowa State (58), Kansas State (58) and Oklahoma State (38) completed the women's final team standings.
A total of 14 R.V. Christian Track records were broken over the course of the event, while five Big 12 meet records fell.
Prezel Hardy, Jr., led the TAMU effort as the men's high point scorer. He swept the sprint titles with a windy 10.03 in the 100-meter and career-best 20.33 in the 200-meter, while also anchoring the Aggies winning 4x100-relay squad.
The Aggie men broke two facility records, earning titles in the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays. The quartet of Ricky Babineaux, Joey Roberts, Michael Preble and Deon Lendore set a new stadium mark in the 4x400 race with a time of 3:03.04 as TAMU claimed its third-straight sweep of the indoor and outdoor 4x400. Carlyle Roudette, Ameer Webb, Michael Bryan and Prezel Hardy, Jr., broke the 4x100-meter facility record in a time of 39.00.
Texas' Mark Jackson is the first Longhorn since 2001 to win an outdoor triple jump title as he recorded a leap of 52-03.25 (15.93m).
On the women's side, Texas A&M sprinter Ashley Collier came away with high point honors by winning the 100-meter in a career-best 11.01, setting a facility record. The sophomore also finished second in the 200-meter race and anchored the A&M 4x100 relay to a sixth-consecutive victory in a collegiate leading 42.99.
KU sophomore Diamond Dixon garnered her first 400-meter sweep as she finished first in a time of 51.09, tying the Big 12 meet record and setting a facility record. The Jayhawk becomes just the second KU athlete to win an event in back-to-back years.
Shanae Briscoe (Texas) won the high jump for the second-straight season, reaching a season-best height of 6-01.25 (1.86m). UT has won the event four straight years and six of the last seven. Teammate Danielle Dowie became the first Longhorn to win the 400-meter hurdles since 2006 when UT had claimed eight straight. She ran a personal best 56.10 to take her first career Big 12 crown.
Natosha Rogers ran a facility-best 5,000-meter time with a mark of 15:57.17. She is the second Aggie to be named the outdoor 5K winner in league history.
Oklahoma State's Natalja Piliusina captured her second-straight outdoor 800-meter crown as she ran the event in a time of 2:05.23. She is the only OSU female to have won back-to-back outdoor titles in an event. The sophomore also won top honors in the indoor 800 meters for the past two seasons.
The next step for the Big 12 teams will be the NCAA East and West Preliminary Rounds held May 24-26.
1. Texas A&M, 150 points
2. Texas, 131 points
3. Oklahoma, 91 points
4. Kansas State, 75 points
5. Texas Tech, 72 points
6. Baylor, 65 points
T7. Kansas, 64 points
T7. Oklahoma State, 64 points
9. Iowa State, 54 points
10. Missouri, 52 points
1. Texas, 139 points
2. Kansas, 129.50 points
3. Texas A&M, 128.50 points
4. Baylor, 72 points
5. Texas Tech, 71 points
6. Oklahoma, 63 points
7. Missouri, 60 points
8. Iowa State, 58 points
9. Kansas State, 58 points
10. Oklahoma State, 38 points
Triple Jump: Mark Jackson, Texas, 52-03.25 (15.93m)
High Jump: Erik Kynard, Kansas State, 7-03.00 (2.21m)
Discus Throw: Luke Bryant, Oklahoma, 202-01.00 (61.61m)
Pole Vault: Kyle Wait, Kansas State, 17-05.00 (5.31m)
3,000-meter Steeplechase: Henry Lelei, Texas A&M, 8:38.90
1,500 meters: Riley Masters, Oklahoma, 3:43.48
110-meter Hurdles: Wayne Davis, II, Texas A&M, 13.37
400-meter Hurdles: Michael Stigler, Kansas, 49.45
100 meters: Prezel Hardy, Jr., Texas A&M, 10.03
200 meters: Prezel Hardy, Jr., Texas A&M, 20.33
400 meters: Deon Lendore, Texas A&M, 45.13
800 meters: Edward Kemboi, Iowa State, 1:46.65
5,000 meters: George Alex, Oklahoma, 4:01.17
4x100-meter relay: Texas A&M, 39.00
4x400-meter relay: Texas A&M, 3:03.04
Triple Jump: Andrea Geubelle, Kansas, 44-02.75 (13.48m)
High Jump: Shanay Briscoe, Texas, 6-01.25 (1.86m)
Discus Throw: Kearsten Peoples, Missouri, 178-05.00 (54.38m)
3,000-meter Steeplechase: Rebeka Stowe, Kansas, 10:18.11
1,500 meters: Laura Roxberg, Missouri, 4:16.71
100-meter Hurdles: Donique' Flemings, Texas A&M, 12.87
400-meter Hurdles: Danielle Dowie, Texas, 56.10
100 meters: Ashley Collier, Texas A&M, 11.01
200 meters: Paris Daniels, Kansas, 22.89
400 meters: Diamond Dixon, Kansas, 51.09
800 meters: Natalja Piliusina, Oklahoma State, 2:05.23
5,000 meters: Natosha Rogers, Texas A&M
4x100-meter relay: Texas A&M, 42.99
4x400-meter relay: Kansas, 3:28.10


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Starring Paul F. Tompkins and Paget Brewster as those married mediums Frank and Sadie Doyle. Also starring Hal Lublin, Keegan-Michael Key, Mark Gagliardi, John Ross Bowie, and Jamie Denbo as Bast. Recorded March 3, 2012.
Thrilling Adventure Hour #80: Beyond Belief, "Sarcophagus Now"
"When a pharaoh does it, it's not a tantrum!"
"Perhaps they shared common interests, such as an enjoyment of lasagna and an aversion to Mondays."
Sweet Cthulu, I love this show!
(sigh) I ADORE Beyond Belief!!!! Paul F Thompkins and Paget Brewster are AMAZING. <3
Vielen vielen Dank!
Brilliant, effervescent, and delightful! I can't get enough of Paget and Paul F.
Yep! Love Sadie and Frank! I'd listen to them every week if I could! Awesome awesome stuff! Thanks for posting these pods!
This is my favorite Beyond Belief so far. Paget Brewster destroys me.
I think the brilliance of these, even in the infrequent gaffes, so overwhelms us listeners that the page gets fewer comments than it deserves.
Always a highlight of the day, even the week, they "drop." Thanks.


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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay players Carl Nicks and Lawrence Tynes are being treated for MRSA infections.
General manager Mark Dominik confirms Thursday that guard Nicks has an infected blister on the side of his left foot and kicker Tynes has an infected toe on his right foot.
MRSA is a staph infection that is resistant to some antibiotics.
The cases were diagnosed last week while the Bucs were in New England holding joint practices with the Patriots before a preseason game.
The team hired a company to sanitize One Buc Place, the team's training facility, last week. A second cleaning has been scheduled as a precaution.
The entire roster was informed of the infections Monday.
The Bucs said they know where Nicks and Tynes, who did not travel to New England, were exposed to MRSA.
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org


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Shawn Andrews is back and his back felt fine after practice today.
"It felt good," the Eagles tackle said. "I had no [reservations]. Went through this thing full speed. Of course, it wasn't much contact ... but still got a good feel on some leaning and pass rushing."
Andrews did his work with the scout team, but could be back with the first team line later this week. Another big step will come tomorrow morning when Andrews wakes up, and later in the day with the Eagles likely practicing in full pads.
"The reason I had him working with the second group there and going with the scout team is so he doesn't go out there and do something crazy with the first group there," Reid said. "We'll just ease him into it and see how he does this week. I don't know exactly where he's at football wise right now because he hasn't been able to do it."
Reid didn't rule out Andrews playing in Thursday's preseason game at the Jets, but it's likely the team will wait until the season opener at Carolina to play Andrews. The tackle kept the door open for a Thursday return
"These next couple of days prove that, hey, I'm in pretty decent shape and go out let football be football and have fun," Andrews said.
Andrews injured his back during a conditioning run on July 30, the first day of training camp for veterans. He then spent the next few weeks receiving treatment indoors -- not out on the practice field with the rest of the injured players. Ten days ago, though, he flew to Los Angeles to see the specialist that performed surgery on his back last October.
Dr. Robert Watkins found no structural damage and since then Andrews has taken steady steps toward a return.
"He basically went through all the rehab that [head trainer] Rick [Burkholder] could put him through and his symptoms, he felt good," Reid said. "The doctor thought we could increase his workload and start getting him back into playing football. Most of all it's been the communication there and the doctor's okay on it."
Fullback Leonard Weaver (knee), tight end Tony Curtis (ankle) and cornerback Sheldon Brown (ribs) were back practicing after missing Thursday's preseason game against Jacksonville.
Wide receiver Kevin Curtis (knee), defensive end Darren Howard, linebacker Charleston Hughes (foot), guard Max Jean-Gilles (shoulder) and tight end Rob Myers (groin) sat out the light practice.
Reid said that Kevin Curtis' knee was just inflamed and that it wasn't serious; same with Jean-Gilles' strained shoulder. Myers was getting an MRI done.
Reid said that surgery to correct Todd Herreman's foot stress fracture was a success. The coach did not set a return date for the guard. Nick Cole and Jean-Gilles are competing for Herreman's spot.
Reid said there was a good chance that quarterback Michael Vick would play Thursday. He hadn't decided exactly who else might play, but he intimated that middle linebacker Joe Mays and free safety Quintin Demps would also play. Apparently, those two haven't won starting jobs yet.


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If your dog is reg. with AKC,and you wan't to get down some health tests with your dog,there will be one clinic at Sept 10,same day as the UKC show and very close to there.I'm deffenetly gonna head out after the show.
OFA Hips and elbow : H 110$ E 100$ H+E:130$
Cardiac : 25$
Microchip : 28$ (reg. included)
Optigen blood draws : 12$


text:
- Description
- Additional Info
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- Contemporary bar stool
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|17.5" W x 17" D x 35.5 - 43.5" H
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Charlize Can Sleep On My Bed Anytime
Charlize Theron has been a busy goddess. Between filming Young Adult, Snow White and The Huntsman and Prometheus, she says what she does in her downtime is mostly sleep, according to Showbiz Spy. In the interview, she talks about her love of travel, wine, and good conversation, none of which she has time for right now. Beer boy below may just have to wait. Charlize gets first crack. Ha I just said Charlize and crack, and of course my mind went there. Excuse me for a minute.
Okay, I'm back. That didn't take long…I mean we're talking about Charlize here. So she also said "I love watching movies. I haven't been able to watch a lot of movies recently and I can't wait to go home and have the screeners come in and just couch up." GIRL, I am with you. I have a great DVD collection in addition to pronhub so we are SO on the same page. We can drink wine, have conversation (maybe "good" is not on the menu, but hey), watch movies (bow-chicka-BOW-WOW), do uh whatever comes naturally and then you can catch your coveted Zs on my pillow top king size. Just enjoy those sweet dreams and don't pay any attention to the woman under the silk sheet.


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MOSCOW (AP) — Two Russian journalists for a Russian state-owned TV channel died Tuesday in eastern Ukraine after being hit by mortar fire, the Rossiya 24 network said.
Correspondent Igor Kornelyuk, 37, died during surgery in a hospital after being wounded while on assignment in Luhansk. The whereabouts of the sound engineer who was with him were unknown throughout the day, but in late evening the network announced that Anton Voloshin had been confirmed dead as well.
Russian officials expressed indignation over the deaths. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the Ukrainian government should be held responsible, while Russia's federal investigative agency announced the opening of a criminal case.
Viktor Denisov, a cameraman working with Kornelyuk, said in a television broadcast that they were filming Ukrainian refugees fleeing the area north of the regional capital when mortar fire began. Denisov was not next to Kornelyuk when he was wounded.
Before the announcement of Voloshin's death, the Paris-based media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said Kornelyuk was the fourth journalist to be killed in Ukraine since the start of the year.
"The violence affecting journalists in Ukraine is reaching unprecedented levels. We again call on the belligerents to do whatever is necessary to protect journalists as required by international law," said Johann Bihr, head of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk for the France-based organization.
The deaths of the journalists prompted the divided U.N. Security Council, where Russia holds veto power, to issue its first statement on Ukraine's crisis. The council offered condolences to the families of the journalists killed and called for a thorough investigation into violence against media workers. The statement also noted the deaths of an Italian photojournalist and his Russian interpreter on May 24.
Ukraine's U.N. ambassador, Yuriy Sergeyev said Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko expressed condolences to the families of the Russian journalists and ordered an investigation of the circumstances of their deaths.
What is known about the deaths, Sergeyev said, is that Tuesday morning a group of "terrorists" attacked Ukrainian law enforcement troops near Luhansk. He said the troops responded, and in the fighting, 10 "terrorists" were killed and many injured. Only at the hospital was it determined that Kornulyuk was a Russian journalist, the ambassador said.
"It is not clear if he entered Ukraine legally or not, but he didn't follow the instructions to all the journalists to be accredited," to be identified as journalists, and to wear armored vests and helmets, Sergeyev told reporters.
"They didn't follow that so they performed at their own risks," he said.
The deadly conflict in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russia separatist rebels and the government in Kiev has been raging for nearly two months. On Monday, Poroshenko pledged to propose a peace plan this week to bring a cease-fire to the east, but said the porous border with Russia had to be secured first.
Ukraine accuses Russia of supporting the rebels, and the United States and NATO say tanks and other heavy weapons have crossed from Russia into the hands of rebels in Ukraine.
Russia has denied sending any weapons or troops, and the rebels said the few tanks they had were seized from Ukrainian forces.
Cash-strapped Ukraine was due to receive 500 million euros ($680 million) on Tuesday from the European Union to help stabilize the country and shore up its ailing economy. EU Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn said the loan was "a further concrete sign of European solidarity."
The money from the 28-nation bloc is part of a wider EU package aimed at helping Ukraine reform its economy to boost growth and increase jobs.
The EU sent Ukraine 100 million euros ($1.35 million) last month and has another 1 billion euros ($1.35 billion) lined up for it, provided Ukraine meets milestones on economic and financial reforms.
Associated Press writers Juergen Baetz in Brussels, Elaine Ganley in Paris and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.


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"I am shocked – shocked! – to find gambling is going on in here"— Captain Renault at the gaming tables in Casablanca.
The much ballyhooed dump of intelligence and diplomatic files concerning the Afghan War has been trumpeted as some kind of shocking expose, "painting a different picture" than the official version of events -- revelations that are sure to rock the Anglo-American political establishments to their foundations.
The New York Times, The Guardian and Der Spiegel were given 92,000 reports by Wikileaks, including thousands of pages of raw "human intelligence" (i.e., uncorroborated claims and gossip from interested parties and anonymous sources pushing a multitude of agendas), and diplomatic notes passed between the promulgators of the occupation in Washington and their factotums "in country" -- reports which you might imagine also purvey a multitude of agendas ... not least the supreme agenda of all officials involved in a dubious enterprise: ass-covering.
Yet these reports are being treated as if they are the "grim truth" behind the shining picture of official propaganda. But what do these stories in the NYT and Guardian actually "reveal"? Let's see:
Is there anything in these breathless new recitations that we did not already know? For example, the NYT offers a few short vignettes from the leaked documents concerning botched raids and errant missiles that slaughter civilians. But in almost every case, these have already been extensively reported -- in the Times itself and other mainstream venues -- in much greater detail, with quotes and evidence from the victims and local eyewitnesses, and not just the self-interested, ass-covering perspective of official occupation reports. And the "revelation" that occupation forces are killing "an amazing number of people" who have "never proven to be a threat" at checkpoints was confirmed months ago by no less than Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the erstwhile commander of the whole shebang.
Likewise, the entanglement between Pakistani intelligence services and some elements of violent resistance in Afghanistan has been a constant theme of mainstream reportage on the Afghan War since the very beginning -- not to mention a relentless drumbeat of official "concern" in Washington. It is a rare week indeed when some Washington bigwig is not hinting darkly -- or declaring outright -- that Pakistan needs to "get with the program" in one way or another.
The increasing use of drones is also no secret; indeed, it is frequently featured in giddy press reports about these neat gizmos our boys are using to bravely blast villages on the other side of the world from comfortably padded chairs in Nevada control rooms.
And America's assassination squads have also been loudly proclaimed and hailed; scarcely a week goes by without a story about yet another "top-level" Taliban or al Qaeda dastard meeting his doom. And of course, the Peace Laureate's administration recently "leaked" the news that America is running hit squads, secret armies and other covert operators in more than 75 countries around the world -- with the Peace Laureate also proclaiming his right to assassinate American citizens when he feels like it.
As for the corruption and incompetence of the Afghan "government" installed by the foreign occupiers, and the untrustworthiness of the Afghan police and military being trained by the foreign occupiers to do their dirty work for them -- again, this too has been a running theme not only of media coverage but a plethora of official pronouncements. Has a month gone by in recent years when some top-level Washington figure has not scolded the powerless Afghan government for its manifold failings? Has a month gone by without long, detailed stories -- usually in the New York Times itself -- outlining the venality and brutality of the warlords, gangsters, religious extremists and corruptocrats that the United States has empowered in the occupied land?
Where then are the "revelations"? Anyone who has regularly read, well, the New York Times, the Guardian and Der Spiegel could not remotely be surprised by any of the facts (as opposed to the oceans of spin and supposition) buried in this mountain of leakage. These are not the Pentagon Papers or the Downing Street Memos; they do almost nothing to alter the public image of the war, and tell almost nothing that we don't already know.
In fact, the overall effect of the multi-part coverage of the documents is to paint a portrait of plucky, put-upon Americans trying their darnedest to get the job done despite the dastardly dealings and gooberish bumblings of the ungrateful little brown wretches we are trying to save from themselves. The NYT is quite explicit in this spin:
[T]he documents sketch a war hamstrung by an Afghan government, police force and army of questionable loyalty and competence, and by a Pakistani military that appears at best uncooperative and at worst to work from the shadows as an unspoken ally of the very insurgent forces the American-led coalition is trying to defeat.
So you see, if our noble enterprise is failing, it's because the Afghans are idiots, the Pakistanis are backstabbers ... and the Iranians are behind it all, training Taliban fighters, making their bombs and bankrolling the political opposition to America's appointed satrap, Hamid Karzai.
Ah, here we get down to it. Here's metal more attractive for our militarists. The treachery of Iran is a constant theme in the leakage -- both in the raw, unsifted, uncorroborated "humint" and in the diplomatic cables of puzzled occupiers who cannot fathom why there should be any opposition to their enlightened rule. It must the fault of those perfidious Persians!
One can only imagine the lipsmacking and handclapping now rampant among the Bomb Iran crowd as they pore over these unsubstantiated rumors and Potomac ass-coverings which are being doled out -- by the "liberal" media, no less! -- as the new, grim truth about Afghanistan. The Guardian helpfully compiles the incendiary material for them:
Iran is engaged in an extensive covert campaign to arm, finance, train and equip Taliban insurgents, Afghan warlords allied to al-Qaida and suicide bombers fighting to eject British and western forces from Afghanistan, according to classified US military intelligence reports contained in the war logs.
The secret "threat reports", mostly comprising raw data provided by Afghan spies and paid informants, cannot be corroborated individually. Even if the claims are accurate, it is unclear whether the activities they describe took place with the full knowledge of Tehran or are the work of hardline elements of the semi-autonomous Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, ideological sympathisers of the Taliban, arms smugglers or criminal gangs ....
Yes, no doubt there are a great many "ideological sympathisers" of the Taliban's Shiite-hating Sunni extremists among the, er, Shiites in Iran. But such nuances don't matter; all that matters is that you get some headlines out there about "Iran's covert operations in Afghanistan." [Because, as we all know, it is an unmitigated evil for any nation to conduct covert operations in another country -- unless, of course, that nation is run by nice, clean, English-speaking people.]
The Guardian details a number of raw humint reports on Iranian dastardy, then makes a curious claim for its other sources:
Summaries of US embassy diplomatic cables and situation assessments contained and distributed through the war logs offer firmer ground than some of the raw intelligence data, given that they are evidently written by American officials and represent an official record, or official evaluation, of high-level meetings.
Why should the "situation assessments" of ass-covering bureaucrats necessarily be "firmer" than the gossip and denunciations being retailed in the "humint" reports? Especially if they are telling Washington exactly what it wants to hear: the Iranians are behind our manifest failures, both militarily and politically. The Guardian:
Summaries of classified diplomatic cables produced by the US embassy in Kabul, contained in the war logs, reveal high-level concern about Tehran's growing political influence in Afghanistan. Senior US and Afghan officials appear at a loss over how to counter Iran's alleged bribery and manipulation of opposition parties and MPs whom Afghan government officials dismiss as Tehran's "puppets"....
"Over the past several months Iran has taken a series of steps to expand and deepen its influence," says a secret cable sourced to the US embassy in Kabul and written in May 2007 by CSTC-A DCG for Pol-Mil Affairs [combined security transition command deputy commanding general for political and military affairs]. The cable cites the creation of the opposition National Front and National Unity Council, which it claims are under Iranian influence.
Wow, that's heavy stuff, man. An apparatchik in the US embassy says that the political opposition to America's man in Kabul is just Iranian puppetry. Obviously, those Afghan ragheads couldn't possibly put together an opposition by themselves. (It's just like that Civil Rights stuff back in the day; it was all a Communist front. You know our docile darkies would never have tried to get above their raising if the Commies hadn't stirred them up.)
We see here a reflection of one of the enduring principles of the American power structure: that no one could ever have any reasonable objections to the enlightened hegemony of our elites. Any opposition to their dominance and privilege has to come from "outside agitators," sinister troublemakers driven by motiveless evil to destroy all that's good and holy in this world.
So in the end, what really is the "takeaway" from this barrage of high-profile "revelations" dished up by these bold liberal gadflies speaking truth to power? Let's recap:
Occupation forces kill lots of civilians. But everybody already knew that -- and it's been obvious for years that nobody cares. How does this alter the prevailing conventional wisdom about the war?
Pakistan is pursuing its own strategic interests in the region: interests that don't always mesh with those of the United States. Again, this has been a constantly -- obsessively -- reported aspect of the war since its earliest days. How does this alter the prevailing conventional wisdom about the war?
The Afghan government installed by the occupation is corrupt and dysfunctional. Again, this theme has been sounded at every level of the American government -- including by two presidents -- for years. How does this alter the prevailing conventional wisdom of the war?
There is often a dichotomy between official statements about the war's progress and the reality of the war on the ground. Again, has there been a month in the last nine years that prominent stories outlining this fact have not appeared in major mainstream publications? Is this not a well-known phenomenon of every single military conflict in human history? How does this alter the prevailing conventional wisdom about the war?
Iran is evil and is helping bad guys kill Americans and should be stopped. It goes without saying that this too has been a relentless drumbeat of the American power structure for many years. The occupation forces in Iraq began blaming Iran for the rise of the insurgency and the political instability almost the moment after George W. Bush proclaimed "mission accomplished" and all hell broke loose in the conquered land. The Obama administration has "continued" -- and expanded -- the Bush Regime's demonization of Iran, and its extensive military preparations for an attack on that country. The current administration's "diplomatic effort" is led by a woman who pledged to "obliterate" Iran -- that is, to kill tens of millions of innocent people -- if Iran attacked Israel. The American power structure has seized upon every single scrap of Curveball-quality "intelligence" -- every rumor, every lie, every exaggeration, every fabrication -- to convince the American people that Iran is about to nuke downtown Omaha with burqa-clad atom bombs.
So once again, and for the last time, we ask the question: How does this alter the prevailing conventional wisdom about the war?
It doesn't, of course. These media "bombshells" will simply bounce off the hardened shell of American exceptionalism -- which easily countenances the slaughter of civilians and "targeted killings" and "indefinite detention" and any number of other atrocities anyway. In fact, I predict the chief "takeaway" from the story will be this:
American forces are doing their best to help the poor Afghans, but the ungrateful natives are too weak and corrupt to be trusted, while America's good intentions are also being thwarted by evil outsiders.
Getting this message out via "critical" stories in "liberal" publications is much more effective than dishing up another serving of patriotic hokum on Fox News or at a presidential press conference. In fact, it is so much more effective that one almost begins to wonder about the ultimate provenance of the leaks. Did some deep-delving gamester allow these files to get out? Most likely not; but their ultimate effect does provoke the age-old question, cui bono?
The assumption is that these 92,000 files about the Afghan war were obtained by an American private serving in Iraq, the unfortunate Bradley Manning, who is now under arrest for the "crime" of leaking something far more disturbing than any written document: a video showing the slaughter of Iraqi civilians by American Apache helicopters in 2007. Washington knows that a couple of moving pictures on the tee-vee have a far greater potential to disturb the moral sleep of the American people than tens of thousands of newspaper reports -- or leaked documents -- detailing similar killings. (That said, in the end the Apache video has had zero effect on public perceptions of the Iraq War, which most people believe is "over," or on public support for the murderous machinations of the Terror War in general, which most people believe needs to continue in one form or another, to "keep us safe.") The only kind of grim truth attended to by anyone in America these days is that which can be shown in moving pictures. (Although the number of people who are upset even by that seems to be rapidly diminishing. That's why Manning had to be put away.
I don't question the bravery or sincerity of Manning or of Julian Assanage in bringing the latest material to light. And I suppose on balance it is better to have it than not to have it. But I still question the usefulness of rolling out mountains of raw "human intelligence" -- precisely the same kind of unfiltered junk that was "stovepiped" to build the false case for the mass-murdering invasion of Iraq -- about Iran, al Qaeda, Pakistan; even North Korea gets into the mix. None of this can be checked -- but all of it will be extremely useful to those who want to build cases for more and more military action, death squads and covert actions around the world.
And it seems very odd that intelligence reports and bureaucratic memos by forces carrying out a prolonged, brutal military occupation of another country are now being treated by "liberal" media outlets as holy writ which paints a "true" picture of the war -- a picture that omits any reference to American war-related corruption, for instance, not only in Afghanistan but more especially in Washington, or to America's wider "Great Game" machinations in Central Asia, involving pipelines, strategic bases and "containing China," etc.
If I believed anything would come of this document dump, if I believed it would actually lead to, say, the prosecution of even one single person for a war-related crime, or to a genuine debate over the morality of the war in the political and media establishments, or even a 5 point rise in public opposition to the Terror War project, then I would rejoice, and embrace the flashy packages of the NYT, Guardian and Der Spiegel at their own self-inflated valuation.
But I honestly believe that the net effect will be simply to entrench the conventional wisdom about the war in the halls of power -- and in the echo chambers of opinion -- on both sides of the Atlantic. We have already seen far too many atrocities, brutalities and acts of criminal folly countenanced, when they are not actually praised, far too many times -- over and over and over again -- in the course of the last decade to believe that these disgorgings of junk intelligence and apparatchik memos will make any difference.
Any difference for the better, that is. For I believe they will supply plenty of ammunition to those bent on further murder and plunder.
This column is republished here with the permission of the author.
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This story was published in the Baltimore Chronicle on July 27, 2010.