Waxman

I work three blocks up from the White House. I’m running to the window right now to see if they’ve hired any extra services to help them with their destruction needs. You know – the same kind of mobile shredding trucks that helped out the VP a few months ago. I’ll keep you all posted.

Question: How many Bush-administration official does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. Any report of its lack of incandescence is a delusional spin by the liberal media. That light bulb has served honorably; and anything you say about its going out undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?

Source unknown

Bay State Librul @ 3

Question: How many Bush-administration official does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. Any report of its lack of incandescence is a delusional spin by the liberal media. That light bulb has served honorably; and anything you say about its going out undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?

Source unknown

The next six months are critical. We need to give the lightbulb time to work.

It looks like it is time for me to email my Reps., Senators, Waxman, Pelosi, et al with the latest copy of the Government Computer News…

Thanks for the heads-up on the Spring Cleaning drive (even hard ones) at the White House.

Has anyone found today’s egregiously awful right-wing fluff piece in the WaPo yet? It seems to be missing.

Christy, I’m sure those fine legal minds at the Department of Justice need no reminders of the law regarding the destruction of evidence.

*g*

Nope, I couldn’t even type that with a straight face.

gee, this takes me back to the good old days of Ollie North and Fawn Hall.

lisadawn82 @ 2

I work three blocks up from the White House. I’m running to the window right now to see if they’ve hired any extra services to help them with their destruction needs. You know – the same kind of mobile shredding trucks that helped out the VP a few months ago. I’ll keep you all posted.

I asked a few weeks ago if anyone saw that shredding truck leave Darth’s lair vs. the possibility they just slapped some siding on it and made it part of the place.

Got no responses.

I’m not getting the message here and don’t want to misunderstand. Is this saying that the RNC/WH computers have this feature or that it is just feared that they do?

Remember, factotums…That’s felony.

Do you really want to spend a nickel at the G.Gordon Liddy Home For Wayward Boys, refining your textile skills?

;>)

I’m not buying that “sercure erase” utility, it sounds like it’s bogus

the reason you can’t delete files is the “ghost” of the information can’t be completely “over written” by the native hardware

sometimes the original ghosts can be detected 3 layers deep

there’s no program that’s going to “super charge” the overwrite hardware that I can think of, what is it going to do, give the hardware “extra write ability”?

obsurd

no amount of “scrambling” the data makes the ghosts disapear either

in addition, the “reason’ the article says microsoft didn’t include the command in the os is that somebody might “inadvertantly” delete their files permanently;

Perhaps the company feared that, no matter how difficult its developers made the Secure Erase commands to find and execute from within the operating system — some users would still invariably erase all their data by accident. As a result, Secure Erase cannot be evoked from Microsoft Windows

a rediculous excuse, all the os has to do you need to do is post multiple warnings

the article looks to me like it’s trying to promote a program that will only marginally delete files by scrambling tags or something like that

now I might be wrong but I believe this is a hoax

Are you serious?!?!

They don’t even try to hide their lawbreaking anymore. If Clinton had a shredder truck outside the WH, the GOP would have been calling for the military to intervene.

OT (sorta) – scarecrow asked for a list of committee hearings for this week… here it is, in the epu-land of this morning’s first thread.

There are plenty of these types of tools available which make practical recovery of data difficult. However don’t assume that the invocation of the tool is up to the individual. One of the well known VPN (Virtual Private Network) packages invokes the Microsoft cipher.exe program at logoff. Cipher looks at available disk space and creates a huge random file to overwrite free and “deleted file” space. This invocation happens without the knowledge of the user.

OT–but related:

More from Greenwald in Salon on what constitutes a Beltway “journalist” these days:

The defining role of a “journalist” — especially national journalists — is to serve as a status-quo-perpetuating spokesperson for Beltway power circles. As long as one fulfills that role, one is free to spout any pro-government ideological or political opinions one wants. Anyone who doubts that — or thinks that is hyperbole — should simply review the above-quoted statements from Brit Hume, or Chris Matthews, or the behavior of Tim Russert, or the endless Bush-worshipping behavior from the likes of Norah O’Donnell and Andrea Mitchell, all of whom are deemed to be “real journalists” (except when they are deemed to be too “liberal”).

National journalists are as integrated into the Beltway elite culture as much as the political figures they are supposed to investigate and scrutinize. They love the Beltway system because it is that system that lavishes them with rewards and status, and their job is to defend it, a job they perform eagerly and with glee. What distinguishes Keith Olbermann is not that he expresses partisan views; he does that far less than all sorts of other “journalists” and anchors.

What Olbermann does is subjects the statements and behavior of our most powerful government officials to critical scrutiny. That used to be the defining attribute of a “journalist.” Now, it is disqualifying behavior.

For supreme DOD tomfoolery read this: DOD on the job, protecting us from Canadian “poppy” quarters:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…../spy_coins

‘Morning, Christy, FirePups! the guests have finally left, and I can indulge my FDL fix…phew.

Too funny, the sudden interest in data security. As if letting a political operative inside the firewall of Congress while porting government communications over all kinds of unsecured networks to unsecured servers was a perfectly secure way to conduct government business…

Oh, I do hope Hank has set some traps. Reminds me of the time that a certain IT worker, upon reporting to a mandatory meeting, was placed on short-term suspension for “misuse of corporate resources” due to excessive personal content in his emails and on his workstation, some of a highly questionable nature. They told him to leave the premises immediately for a week…

And then the moron goes back to his desk to try to delete materials from his machine. He’s caught by management and security in flagrante delicto and was escorted permanently off site.

Too stupid to be employed by the firm – and he proved it, all by himself. Oh, I do hope we will also find some of the same proof in progress. Sic ‘em, Hank!

The online ad for Nextel on the Government Computer News site was a little too scary for me: “There’s no stopping you…” in bold yellow and black.

Cue the onerous organ music.

When do we throw these crooks in jail?

RickG @ 15

Cipher looks at available disk space and creates a huge random file to overwrite free and “deleted file” space. This invocation happens without the knowledge of the user.

this is probably what the author of that article is talking about

writing a huge file at logoff does nothing unliess it’s writing multiple overwrites and that is simply a scrub

this author is claiming the program will perform as well as a complete scrub in a time period exponentially faster then a secure scrub

sounds like a haox

That must be excerpted from Junya’s new tome: “Disk Drives for Dummies.”

Screwin’ the pooch…a time-honored tradition for any Repug, and brought to a record low by his loutness, the Prince of Pampers, our Preznint-in-name-only, the Cheney Chew-toy, the Loser-In-Chief, Junya – the Master of all that he sees, but only when he closes his eyes.

perris @ 12

I’m not buying that “sercure erase” utility, it sounds like it’s bogus

the reason you can’t delete files is the “ghost” of the information can’t be completely “over written” by the native hardware

sometimes the original ghosts can be detected 3 layers deep

there’s no program that’s going to “super charge” the overwrite hardware that I can think of, what is it going to do, give the hardware “extra write ability”?

obsurd

no amount of “scrambling” the data makes the ghosts disapear either

in addition, the “reason’ the article says microsoft didn’t include the command in the os is that somebody might “inadvertantly” delete their files permanently;

Perhaps the company feared that, no matter how difficult its developers made the Secure Erase commands to find and execute from within the operating system — some users would still invariably erase all their data by accident. As a result, Secure Erase cannot be evoked from Microsoft Windows

a rediculous excuse, all the os has to do you need to do is post multiple warnings

the article looks to me like it’s trying to promote a program that will only marginally delete files by scrambling tags or something like that

now I might be wrong but I believe this is a hoax

perris — there’ve been programs for years that perform what is called a “military wipe” of data. My understanding is that it not only scrambles tags but overwrites content repeatedly so that content cannot be recovered. If memory serves, this wipes the drive and rewrites 7 or more times over data.

I do know that research-quality magnets will do the job, no writing required. But one has to remove the hard drive from the machine for this activity, making it easy to detect intent.

Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.

Eric Arthur Blair

Secure Erase could work too well, in fact. Although approved by the American National Standards Institute, Secure Erase was shunned by Microsoft and other operating system vendors. Perhaps the company feared that, no matter how difficult its developers made the Secure Erase commands to find and execute from within the operating system — some users would still invariably erase all their data by accident. As a result, Secure Erase cannot be evoked from Microsoft Windows. Most motherboard BIOSes block use of the commands.

Wow! What an interesting choice of terms. They run it just like they run the war stratergy!!! Data or Human Debris…

“NIST defines four levels of sanitization:

* Disposal. The simplest methods, it involves just throwing the media away. It is obviously for the least-sensitive data.

* Clearing. This makes data unretrievable by “a robust keyboard attack,” which includes the use of recovery utilities. Overwriting is an acceptable means of clearing for undamaged media.

* Purging. A higher level that resists data recovery by sophisticated laboratory attacks. Degaussing is effective for purging, but it cannot be used on nonmagnetic storage, such as CDs and DVDs. The firmware Secure Erase capability in Advanced Technology Attachment hard drives is an overwriting technique that satisfies both Clear and Purge requirements.

* Destroying. What NIST calls the “ultimate form of sanitization.” Paper and flexible media such as tapes and floppy disks can be shredded. But incineration, pulverization, disintegration or melting are required for more robust hardware. This often must be done at a specialized outside facility that can perform the work effectively and safely.”

Rayne @ 22

perris — there’ve been programs for years that perform what is called a “military wipe” of data. .

that’s right rayne, that’s the way you scrub data when using the native hardware, it takes quite a bit of time.

one write with 1’s, one with 0’s, one random and repeat any number of times

this article claims that the time a scrub takes is not neccessary with this “native utility”

it starts out saying a military scrub isn’t neccessary you can delete data in much less time without multiple overwrites

Frank Probst @ 4

Bay State Librul @ 3

Question: How many Bush-administration official does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. Any report of its lack of incandescence is a delusional spin by the liberal media. That light bulb has served honorably; and anything you say about its going out undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?

Source unknown

The next six months are critical. We need to give the lightbulb time to work.

We need more funds for more lightbulbs because this one is working so well…for now. But we will need more lightbulbs. Uh oh, this lightbulb isn’t working so well, so yeah, we need the funding.

I bet *I* could fully erase the offensive files.

Not on purpose, of course – I’m just a computer-dolt.

Mandrake @ 24

Secure Erase could work too well, in fact. Although approved by the American National Standards Institute, Secure Erase was shunned by Microsoft and other operating system vendors. Perhaps the company feared that, no matter how difficult its developers made the Secure Erase commands to find and execute from within the operating system — some users would still invariably erase all their data by accident. As a result, Secure Erase cannot be evoked from Microsoft Windows. Most motherboard BIOSes block use of the commands.

Damn. It sounded to me like a Microsoft ‘Help’ file. Or instruction from one of their user’s manuals.

Just sayin’…

(I hate that kludge of computing.)

:->

perris @ 26

that’s right rayne, that’s the way you scrub data

this article claims that the time a scrub takes is not neccessary with this “native utility”

I’m really rusty at this, been a handful of years since I had to worry about scrubbing when decommissioning equipment for IT provisioning dept. But I think the wipe program only invoked OS-level scripts, just in a particular sequence that the OS and/or user would not typically call up on their own.

Rayne @ 22

there’ve been programs for years that perform what is called a “military wipe” of data. My understanding is that it not only scrambles tags but overwrites content repeatedly so that content cannot be recovered. If memory serves, this wipes the drive and rewrites 7 or more times over data.

I do know that research-quality magnets will do the job, no writing required. But one has to remove the hard drive from the machine for this activity, making it easy to detect intent.

the standard mac OS disk utility offers 35 pass disk erase… far more than DOD specs. and it doesn’t require any special software – it’s in the operating system!!!

hard to see how anyone could recover data after that….

Biodun @ 16

OT–but related:

More from Greenwald in Salon on what constitutes a Beltway “journalist” these days:

The defining role of a “journalist” — especially national journalists — is to serve as a status-quo-perpetuating spokesperson for Beltway power circles. As long as one fulfills that role, one is free to spout any pro-government ideological or political opinions one wants. Anyone who doubts that — or thinks that is hyperbole — should simply review the above-quoted statements from Brit Hume, or Chris Matthews, or the behavior of Tim Russert, or the endless Bush-worshipping behavior from the likes of Norah O’Donnell and Andrea Mitchell, all of whom are deemed to be “real journalists” (except when they are deemed to be too “liberal”).

National journalists are as integrated into the Beltway elite culture as much as the political figures they are supposed to investigate and scrutinize. They love the Beltway system because it is that system that lavishes them with rewards and status, and their job is to defend it, a job they perform eagerly and with glee. What distinguishes Keith Olbermann is not that he expresses partisan views; he does that far less than all sorts of other “journalists” and anchors.

What Olbermann does is subjects the statements and behavior of our most powerful government officials to critical scrutiny. That used to be the defining attribute of a “journalist.” Now, it is disqualifying behavior.

Man, Greenwald can write. I wou;dn’t care to get on his bad side.

Rayne @ 30

perris @ 26

that’s right rayne, that’s the way you scrub data

this article claims that the time a scrub takes is not neccessary with this “native utility”

I’m really rusty at this, been a handful of years since I had to worry about scrubbing when decommissioning equipment for IT provisioning dept. But I think the wipe program only invoked OS-level scripts, just in a particular sequence that the OS and/or user would not typically call up on their own.

I’m saying that whatever the article is talking about is not going to scrub a hardrive unless it performs the full routine which it claims is not neccessary with the program

I think the article is a haox

perris @ 33

I’m saying that whatever the article is talking about is not going to scrub a hardrive unless it performs the full routine

I think the article is a haox

I hope it’s a sting

off to work,see all firedogs later

OT ~ What’s wrong with America? I mean besides Bill O’Reilly. Link to Bill Maher

Elliott @ 34

perris @ 33

I’m saying that whatever the article is talking about is not going to scrub a hardrive unless it performs the full routine

I think the article is a haox

I hope it’s a sting

it might be a sting actually, I was thinking the same thing

perris @ 33

I’m saying that whatever the article is talking about is not going to scrub a hardrive unless it performs the full routine which it claims is not neccessary with the program

I think the article is a haox

So…is it a trap? heh-heh. I hope so.

OK firedogs,

I just received one of those retarded “chain email” messages inviting me to drink the Republican koolaid. Anyone want to volunteer to vet it and send it back?Elliott @ 8

gee, this takes me back to the good old days of Ollie North and Fawn Hall.

Funny you should mention that Elliott. I just received one of those retarded chain emails inviting me to drink the koolaid. It cites Oliver North as the first person to warn America about Osama Bin Laden. This email is an attempt to smear Gore as a stupid Dem who didn’t know who Osama Bin Laden was…

If the Repubs were/are so concerned, why didn’t they take care of business back then?

i dunno, you average desk jockey will not find it very user friendly.

OT–

Then there is this crucial tidbit about Tenet in today’s Salon:

May 7, 2007 | If you go by the book jacket of his new memoir, “At the Center of the Storm,” George Tenet is enjoying the life of a retired government servant teaching at Georgetown University, where he was appointed to the faculty in 2004. The former CIA director played up the academic image when he kicked off the recent media blitz for his new book by doing an interview for CBS’s “60 Minutes” from his spacious, book-lined office at the university. His academic salary, and the reported $4 million advance he received from publisher HarperCollins, should provide the former CIA director with more than enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his days and leave a substantial fortune to his children.

But those monies are hardly Tenet’s entire income. While the swirl of publicity around his book has focused on his long debated role in allowing flawed intelligence to launch the war in Iraq, nobody is talking about his lucrative connection to that conflict ever since he resigned from the CIA in June 2004. In fact, Tenet has been earning substantial income by working for corporations that provide the U.S. government with technology, equipment and personnel used for the war in Iraq as well as the broader war on terror.

When Tenet hit the talk-show circuit last week to defend his stewardship of the CIA and his role in the run-up to the war, he did not mention that he is a director and advisor to four corporations that earn millions of dollars in revenue from contracts with U.S. intelligence agencies and the Department of Defense. Nor is it ever mentioned in his book. But according to public records, Tenet has received at least $2.3 million from those corporations in stock and other compensation. Meanwhile, one of the CIA’s largest contractors gave Tenet access to a highly secured room where he could work on classified material for his book.

(snip)

selise @ 31

Rayne @ 22

there’ve been programs for years that perform what is called a “military wipe” of data. My understanding is that it not only scrambles tags but overwrites content repeatedly so that content cannot be recovered. If memory serves, this wipes the drive and rewrites 7 or more times over data.

I do know that research-quality magnets will do the job, no writing required. But one has to remove the hard drive from the machine for this activity, making it easy to detect intent.

the standard mac OS disk utility offers 35 pass disk erase… far more than DOD specs. and it doesn’t require any special software – it’s in the operating system!!!

hard to see how anyone could recover data after that….

I’ve been wondering about that, with everything being discussed MS-cetnric. I used it upon upgrading from System 9 to 10.2. Took about a half hour on a 9 gig HD. (233mhz CPU may have added a molasses factor…)

But, she was sure clean, and ready to rock after that!
And, I’ll proudly add, as a ‘Microsoft-free environment’. I can be done. Not that I’m particular, or anything. *g*

Coincidence? Why, yes. Now I’m waiting for someone to tell me the sun is going to rise in the North.

Rayne @ 38

perris @ 33

I’m saying that whatever the article is talking about is not going to scrub a hardrive unless it performs the full routine which it claims is not neccessary with the program

I think the article is a haox

So…is it a trap? heh-heh. I hope so.

xxxxx-fingers crossed-xxxxx

So, why aren’t all the “lost” e-mails obstruction of justice?

oops, my message submitted before fully edited. Dang!

HillCountryGal @ 43

Coincidence? Why, yes. Now I’m waiting for someone to tell me the sun is going to rise in the North.

Speaking of the sun, have you checked dopplar?

OT – Report: Saudis, US sponsoring covert action against Iran

LS @ 47

HillCountryGal @ 43

Coincidence? Why, yes. Now I’m waiting for someone to tell me the sun is going to rise in the North.

Speaking of the sun, have you checked dopplar?

On my way right now. One can never be too careful or too assuming, yes?

EvilDrPuma @ 32

Man, Greenwald can write. I wou;dn’t care to get on his bad side.

Mornin’, EDP…how are you doing today?

do-si-do @ 46

oops, my message submitted before fully edited. Dang!

preview is your friend, ;)

speaking from too frequent experience

Blank Kludge @ 29

Mandrake @ 24

Secure Erase could work too well, in fact. Although approved by the American National Standards Institute, Secure Erase was shunned by Microsoft and other operating system vendors. Perhaps the company feared that, no matter how difficult its developers made the Secure Erase commands to find and execute from within the operating system — some users would still invariably erase all their data by accident. As a result, Secure Erase cannot be evoked from Microsoft Windows. Most motherboard BIOSes block use of the commands.

Damn. It sounded to me like a Microsoft ‘Help’ file. Or instruction from one of their user’s manuals.

Just sayin’…

(I hate that kludge of computing.)

:->

Well, I’m operating under the assumption that a Windows OS was being used with the e-mail exchanges which would mean the OS would autmatically reject the “scrubbing” program. Of course, have no way of knowing that, but what would be the alternative?

Any computer geeks wanna address what kinda OS the RNC was/is using?

twolf1 @ 48

OT – Report: Saudis, US sponsoring covert action against Iran

another chapter of “stupid and immoral”?

we’ve got to impeach this idiots – i don’t know another way to stop the insanity….

Cleaning hard drives before disposal is standard operating procedure (or should be).
Nothing nefarious there.
You would want your bank to follow this procedure before decomissioning equipment.
Even after rewriting empty sectors, some residual megnetic traces can be detected by sophisticated methods.
IIRC the DOD standard used to be 7 overwrites for sensitive stuff. Then destroy the platters for really sensitive stuff.
There are handy windows based tools (Eraser53 comes to mind) as well.
Secure-Erase runs from a boot disc. I would only use it for decomissioned hardware (before reinstalling the OS on a donation machine or otherwise disposing of the hardware.
Never on a running machine.

Blank Kludge

It’s a heckuva web there in Missouri, all right. Glad Claire’s asking for a little “show me” session in front of the Judiciary Committee.

Mandrake @ 52

Any computer geeks wanna address what kinda OS the RNC was/is using?

Check with luaptifer at ePluribus Media; he’s done quite a bit of the techie research on this. I don’t think RNC was using anything except off the shelf MSFT stuff.

South Specific: “I’m gonna wash those files right out of my hair”

Also, I am curious as to whether or not, if such a scrubbing program were to be implemented, wouldn’t it seem extremely suspect if NOTHING shows up, e.g., prima facie evidence that the e-mails and other docs subpoenaed were wiped out intentionally – that fraud was involved?

I mean, how much control would you be able to have over a program that is designed to just wipe out everything on a hard drive? You can’t really pick and choose, I would imagine, what you want to scrub.

Well, I’m operating under the assumption that a Windows OS was being used with the e-mail exchanges which would mean the OS would autmatically reject the “scrubbing” program. Of course, have no way of knowing that, but what would be the alternative?

Any computer geeks wanna address what kinda OS the RNC was/is using?

Not a true geek here, but from what I’ve read about U.S. Gov’t computing I’d think your assumption is valid.

Remember the broohaha about the IT guy in MA last year who wanted to move State docs sytem from MS-based ’standards’ over to open source? Just an example.

do-si-do @ 39

Funny you should mention that Elliott. I just received one of those retarded chain emails inviting me to drink the koolaid. It cites Oliver North as the first person to warn America about Osama Bin Laden. This email is an attempt to smear Gore as a stupid Dem who didn’t know who Osama Bin Laden was…

If the Repubs were/are so concerned, why didn’t they take care of business back then?

That’s too funny,
Ollie North was worried about Abu Nidal (who was sooo ’80s)coming to get his family. But now I forget what Ollie did to irk Nidal so. But I don’t recall any warnings about Bin Ladini.

that “Ladini” was originally a typo, but I like it. Bin Ladini is very much a Houdini, just disappearing like that! tora*poof*bora

Peterr @ 55

Blank Kludge

It’s a heckuva web there in Missouri, all right. Glad Claire’s asking for a little “show me” session in front of the Judiciary Committee.

Yes.
edit: It kind of irks me that their mantra for disasta is ‘Who could have anticipated/imagined etc.’ when there were forces diabolically anticipatin’ all over the place.

EvilDrPuma @ 32

Biodun @ 16

OT–but related:

More from Greenwald in Salon on what constitutes a Beltway “journalist” these days:

The defining role of a “journalist” — especially national journalists — is to serve as a status-quo-perpetuating spokesperson for Beltway power circles. As long as one fulfills that role, one is free to spout any pro-government ideological or political opinions one wants. Anyone who doubts that — or thinks that is hyperbole — should simply review the above-quoted statements from Brit Hume, or Chris Matthews, or the behavior of Tim Russert, or the endless Bush-worshipping behavior from the likes of Norah O’Donnell and Andrea Mitchell, all of whom are deemed to be “real journalists” (except when they are deemed to be too “liberal”).

National journalists are as integrated into the Beltway elite culture as much as the political figures they are supposed to investigate and scrutinize. They love the Beltway system because it is that system that lavishes them with rewards and status, and their job is to defend it, a job they perform eagerly and with glee. What distinguishes Keith Olbermann is not that he expresses partisan views; he does that far less than all sorts of other “journalists” and anchors.

What Olbermann does is subjects the statements and behavior of our most powerful government officials to critical scrutiny. That used to be the defining attribute of a “journalist.” Now, it is disqualifying behavior.

Man, Greenwald can write. I wou;dn’t care to get on his bad side.

Agreed, Also Greg Palast is one of the premier
investigative journalst… along with our gal Marcy….

Q&A on Palast from the May 2007 Sun Mag is
here
http://www.thesunmagazine.org/377_Palast.pdf

Bit NOLA @ 17

For supreme DOD tomfoolery read this: DOD on the job, protecting us from Canadian “poppy” quarters:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…../spy_coins

clearly a good use of national resources … evil candians planting spy quarters in our contractors pockets!

do-si-do @ 39

I just received one of those retarded chain emails inviting me to drink the koolaid. It cites Oliver North as the first person to warn America about Osama Bin Laden. This email is an attempt to smear Gore as a stupid Dem who didn’t know who Osama Bin Laden was…

If the Repubs were/are so concerned, why didn’t they take care of business back then?

It’s already been debunked by North himself.
North’s website, has his response, click on “email response.”

lee5 @ 63

Bit NOLA @ 17

For supreme DOD tomfoolery read this: DOD on the job, protecting us from Canadian “poppy” quarters:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…../spy_coins

clearly a good use of natioanl resources … evil candians planting spy quarters in our contractors pockets!

A quandary that could have been solved by a phone call to the Mint. But no, first lets make a security crisis out of it.

Rayne @ 56

Mandrake @ 52

Any computer geeks wanna address what kinda OS the RNC was/is using?

Check with luaptifer at ePluribus Media; he’s done quite a bit of the techie research on this. I don’t think RNC was using anything except off the shelf MSFT stuff.

Thanks for the link but I did not see the article on there. However, that was my guess that they would be using Microsoft so they would be powerless to “scrub” their HD and my guess is even if they did, there would be some very suspicious-looking computer forensic clues left behind.

If you want to wipe a drive past any point of retrievability, there is nothing better than a 5 pound magnet from your 70’s style power tower speaker. As well as being useful for picking up nails after roofing a house, one of these bad boys will set up an interesting magnetic interaction with a hard disk in close proximity such that it might not recover for standard service purposes, much less data mining for ghost images.

After an hour or two sitting on a 5 pound magnet, if you can fdisk the drive (once is good, twice is better) then you are probably safe from the CIA, FBI and NSA labs. Actually, you’re probably safe from almost anyone except a 15 year old with a basement full of hardware, time on his hands and no friends.

I’d keep a sharp eye out for delivery orders of large stereo speakers to any government offices. Those are the folks Henry should target!

Mandrake @ 58

Also, I am curious as to whether or not, if such a scrubbing program were to be implemented, wouldn’t it seem extremely suspect if NOTHING shows up, e.g., prima facie evidence that the e-mails and other docs subpoenaed were wiped out intentionally – that fraud was involved?

I mean, how much control would you be able to have over a program that is designed to just wipe out everything on a hard drive? You can’t really pick and choose, I would imagine, what you want to scrub.

Absolutely correct — and there’s more than one way to check the content. If you draft an email using commercially predominant programs, there’s something on your hard drive. If you sent it, there’s something in a mail server at your end, and at the recipients’ end. If they reply, there’s more of the same in the opposite direction. And if you sent to a Blackberry user, or your email was forwarded by a recipient to yet another recipient with a Blackberry, there’s a record of the transmission in the Blackberry server.

And then mirror drives and backups and RAID sets and so on…

Stupid to try to erase, even if it was remotely possible to select one email and do a military wipe on that one file only — because you have to get them all.

Bwa-hahahahahahahah!

An Update from Greenwald here:

UPDATE II: In his column today, Kurtz quotes the paragraph of the AP article claiming that with Olbermann, NBC is “stretch(ing) traditional notions of journalistic objectivity,” and calls it an “interesting tidbit.” For Kurtz — who vigorously defends Brit Hume as a fair and objective news anchor — “interesting tidbit” is the sum total of his commentary on the Olbermann controversy.

Kurtz’s weekly chat is today at 12 noon Eastern (in 40 minutes or so) — here — and you can ask him to elaborate on this matter, including his views as to whether there is a difference between Olbermann and Hume in terms of their credibility as a journalist. I have no doubt his response will be instructive (if not actually responsive).

The first words out of the chimp’s mouth offend the Queen and embarass a nation (via huffpo):

President Bush: “You helped our nation celebrate its Bicentennial in 17…1976…”

(Pause and laughter)

Queen Elizabeth: (Inaudible)

President Bush: “She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child.”

(Laughter)

Mandrake @ 66

You’ll have to look for content that luaptifer has authored; he’s also contributed or co-authored other content. If you are at ePM, search for diaries by him or for diaries about gwb43.com.

Rayne @ 68

Stupid to try to erase, even if it was remotely possible to select one email and do a military wipe on that one file only — because you have to get them all.

Bwa-hahahahahahahah!

[my bold]
cockroach bytes

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6632939.stm
“A senior aide to embattled World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz has announced his resignation
.
Kevin Kellems said an ongoing scandal surrounding his boss made it difficult for him to remain effective in his role at the Washington-based institution.

Mr Kellems, who had also worked with Mr Wolfowitz at the White House, is expected to leave his post next week.

Sort of EPU’d – rats leaving a sinking ship?

mc @ 70

The first words out of the chimp’s mouth offend the Queen and embarass a nation (via huffpo):

President Bush: “You helped our nation celebrate its Bicentennial in 17…1976…”

(Pause and laughter)

Queen Elizabeth: (Inaudible)

President Bush: “She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child.”

(Laughter)

Poor Queen Lizzy. She must hate that man. Considering she has had a lifetime’s experience in looking bland and gracious in unpleasant public situations, it’s quite something that the veneer cracks here.

Rayne @ 68

Bwa-hahahahahahahah!

Well, yes. exactly.

Unless you can drop 5-lb speaker magnets on your drive, the organization’s server, and at their off-site back-up storage location (plus the same for any other organization that received the file/e-mail), it’s very hard to “disappear” any file from an organization that runs anything close to best-practice IT.

That said, we are, of course, talking about the Republican National Committee…

selise @ 53

twolf1 @ 48

OT – Report: Saudis, US sponsoring covert action against Iran

another chapter of “stupid and immoral”?

we’ve got to impeach this idiots – i don’t know another way to stop the insanity….

Why oh why would Iran be looking to bolster support in Iraq? Someone please tell me why would Iran feel the need to seek more allies in the region?

I tell ya. The US always gets outsnookered by Iran. It’ll happen this time too.

-GSD

JeffinBerlin @ 73

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6632939.stm
“A senior aide to embattled World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz has announced his resignation
.
Kevin Kellems said an ongoing scandal surrounding his boss made it difficult for him to remain effective in his role at the Washington-based institution.

Mr Kellems, who had also worked with Mr Wolfowitz at the White House, is expected to leave his post next week.

Sort of EPU’d – rats leaving a sinking ship?

The beginning of the Wolfo-blitz.

-GSD

GSD @ 76

selise @ 53

twolf1 @ 48

OT – Report: Saudis, US sponsoring covert action against Iran

another chapter of “stupid and immoral”?

we’ve got to impeach this idiots – i don’t know another way to stop the insanity….

Why oh why would Iran be looking to bolster support in Iraq? Someone please tell me why would Iran feel the need to seek more allies in the region?

I tell ya. The US always gets outsnookered by Iran. It’ll happen this time too.

-GSD

Politics in the regions is positively Byzantine in its complexity and subtlety. The Americans don’t stand a chance, in the long run.

This one is by the author Rayne cites…gwb/rnc/congress and the single contractor, etc.

http://scoop.epluribusmedia.or…..22612/9031

Might be able to use that to start…

Good info, but above my payscale. I’m just a kludge, a blank one at that.

Fern @ 74

Poor Queen Lizzy. She must hate that man. Considering she has had a lifetime’s experience in looking bland and gracious in unpleasant public situations, it’s quite something that the veneer cracks here.

I think she does fantasize about driving a monster truck around various places, maybe not the Rose Garden, but prolly over George W.

Elliott @ 72

Rayne @ 68

Stupid to try to erase, even if it was remotely possible to select one email and do a military wipe on that one file only — because you have to get them all.

Bwa-hahahahahahahah!

[my bold]
cockroach bytes

Yep, they’re pretty much helpless on this one.

Darn those internets!

Mutant Poodle @ 75

That said, we are, of course, talking about the Republican National Committee…

Somehow I don’t see these folks being smart enough to pull off a plot to detonate a massive EMP device big enough to take down all DC, let alone get Blackberry and any and all commercial/private email systems through which their collection of RICO communications have traversed. Nor would they be smart enough to pull off buying a targeted worm.

mc @ 70

The first words out of the chimp’s mouth offend the Queen and embarass a nation (via huffpo):

President Bush: “You helped our nation celebrate its Bicentennial in 17…1976…”

(Pause and laughter)

Queen Elizabeth: (Inaudible)

President Bush: “She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child.”

(Laughter)

Bush’s last comment almost sounds proud that he got the Queen to ‘crack’ her facade. Good grief, he’s such an embarrassment.

Talk about “tidbits”:

I did not know that WaPo’s Mary Ann Akers, who avidly and voraciously drinks the Kool-aid about the leftist blogosphere concocted by Lieberman gophers, is married to Newsweek’s Mike Isikoff, a “Beltway journalist.”

christine @ 83

mc @ 70

The first words out of the chimp’s mouth offend the Queen and embarass a nation (via huffpo):

President Bush: “You helped our nation celebrate its Bicentennial in 17…1976…”

(Pause and laughter)

Queen Elizabeth: (Inaudible)

President Bush: “She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child.”

(Laughter)

Bush’s last comment almost sounds proud that he got the Queen to ‘crack’ her facade. Good grief, he’s such an embarrassment.

The Queen mother obviously would not fit in well at a Skull and Bones towel snapping session. More is the pity!

Mutant Poodle @ 75

Rayne @ 68

Bwa-hahahahahahahah!

Well, yes. exactly.

Unless you can drop 5-lb speaker magnets on your drive, the organization’s server, and at their off-site back-up storage location (plus the same for any other organization that received the file/e-mail), it’s very hard to “disappear” any file from an organization that runs anything close to best-practice IT.

That said, we are, of course, talking about the Republican National Committee…

MZM’s first contract was for such things…later contracts even more shadowy. (Joking, but still…these bloody tangled webs are everywhere.)

Rayne @ 82

Mutant Poodle @ 75

That said, we are, of course, talking about the Republican National Committee…

Somehow I don’t see these folks being smart enough to pull off a plot to detonate a massive EMP device big enough to take down all DC, let alone get Blackberry and any and all commercial/private email systems through which their collection of RICO communications have traversed. Nor would they be smart enough to pull off buying a targeted worm.

Stop giving them ideas!

If I’ve been sending out “problematic” emails from my DOJ/WH computer, wiping it clean would only be one element of the problem. There are also all those computers of the people to whom I sent my emails.

And if just one of those computers has an incriminating email . . .
And if just one of Henry’s subpoenas finds its way to that computer’s owner . . .

That’s the problem with obstructing justice — all those damn loose ends. You’ve got to sweep each and every last one of them up, or you’re headed for the John Mitchell Suite in the federal prison system.

Each
And
Every
Last
One.

Getting much sleep, Karl?

Rayne @ 68

Stupid to try to erase, even if it was remotely possible to select one email and do a military wipe on that one file only — because you have to get them all.

Bwa-hahahahahahahah!

Elliott @ 72

[my bold]
cockroach bytes

Mandrake @ 81

Yep, they’re pretty much helpless on this one.

Darn those internets!

I just flashed on grey goo here

Clueless Kurtz:

Anonymous: Hi, Howard. We hear incessantly about how this group or that group is funded by George Soros, as though that fact, by itself, proves the group’s political affiliations. But those groups do not purport to be nonpartisan newspapers or sources of news. The Politico claims exactly that. Surely it is notable that those who created The Politico, who are funding it, and who are in charge of its operations, are long-time Republican operatives and those firmly implanted in right-wing circles. What do you think?

Howard Kurtz: If John Harris, Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roger Simon are longtime Republican operatives, somehow it’s escaped my notice.

Biodun @ 84

Talk about “tidbits”:

I did not know that WaPo’s Mary Ann Akers, who avidly and voraciously drinks the Kool-aid about the leftist blogosphere concocted by Lieberman gophers, is married to Newsweek’s Mike Isikoff, a “Beltway journalist.”

we need a Hugh-type list of who’s zooming who.

Biodun @ 84

Talk about “tidbits”:

I did not know that WaPo’s Mary Ann Akers, who avidly and voraciously drinks the Kool-aid about the leftist blogosphere concocted by Lieberman gophers, is married to Newsweek’s Mike Isikoff, a “Beltway journalist.”

Achey and Inky, sittin’ in a tree, H-Y-P-E-I-N-G…

;>)

Rayne @ 82

Mutant Poodle @ 75

That said, we are, of course, talking about the Republican National Committee…

Somehow I don’t see these folks being smart enough to pull off a plot to detonate a massive EMP device big enough to take down all DC, let alone get Blackberry and any and all commercial/private email systems through which their collection of RICO communications have traversed. Nor would they be smart enough to pull off buying a targeted worm.

Mandrake’s right: Stop giving them ideas!

Peterr @ 88

That’s the problem with obstructing justice — all those damn loose ends. You’ve got to sweep each and every last one of them up, or you’re headed for the John Mitchell Suite in the federal prison system.

Can we resurrect Martha Mitchell and make Karl share the cell with her?

Every time I turn around Rudy the G is involved in more white-collar thuggery.

A pair of companies owned by Rudy Giuliani represented both a debtor and a creditor in a recently concluded bankruptcy proceeding, a potential conflict of interest that wasn’t disclosed to the federal judge overseeing the case, records show.

http://online.wsj.com/article/…..primary_hs

Frank Probst @ 4

Bay State Librul @ 3

Question: How many Bush-administration official does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. Any report of its lack of incandescence is a delusional spin by the liberal media. That light bulb has served honorably; and anything you say about its going out undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?

Source unknown

The next six months are critical. We need to give the lightbulb time to work.

By summer you won’t need the light buld. The day will be nice and long. Don’t worry.

Elliott @ 93

Mandrake’s right: Stop giving them ideas!

That’s the beauty of this mess: it’s too fricking late!

Think of all the backups in vaults, unattached to a computer or network — for starters.

Let alone all the copies that foreign agents have surely snagged and are sitting on at this moment. Mwee-heeheehee!

Mutant Poodle @ 94

Peterr @ 88

That’s the problem with obstructing justice — all those damn loose ends. You’ve got to sweep each and every last one of them up, or you’re headed for the John Mitchell Suite in the federal prison system.

Can we resurrect Martha Mitchell and make Karl share the cell with her?

http://alanmclark.com/shop/images/o.psycho.dtl.jpg

And Rove as Anthony Perkins.

Biodun @ 84

Talk about “tidbits”:

I did not know that WaPo’s Mary Ann Akers, who avidly and voraciously drinks the Kool-aid about the leftist blogosphere concocted by Lieberman gophers, is married to Newsweek’s Mike Isikoff, a “Beltway journalist.”

So here’s the start of the Washington Inc*st List
WI.1. Washington Post Mary Ann Ackers married to Michael Isikoff Newsweek

[edited by mod]

Rayne @ 97

Elliott @ 93

Mandrake’s right: Stop giving them ideas!

That’s the beauty of this mess: it’s too fricking late!

Think of all the backups in vaults, unattached to a computer or network — for starters.

Let alone all the copies that foreign agents have surely snagged and are sitting on at this moment. Mwee-heeheehee!

That can’t be true…say it ain’t so. Karl is a genius, after all. His magic spreadsheets have been the oracle that have foretold the rise to supremacy of this authoritarian administration. His immaculate grasp of technology could not possibly fail to comprehend the subtle nuance of a SCSI tape backup. His brain is too big for that!

TeddySanFran @ 90:

Have you seen this from Mary Ann Akers, from her article on behind-the-scenes after the GOP debate? Greenwald cites it in his post last Saturday.

The real fun for debate host Chris Matthews – it was his first ever presidential debate, by the way — came afterward. He and his “Hardball” gang, including MSNBC Vice President Tammy Haddad and a few national political reporters, went to dinner at a restaurant called Tuscany in Westlake Village, Calif., where they bumped into the hunk of the ’80s, actor Tom Selleck.

Selleck was on his way out, but he stopped and chatted with Matthews. After he left, Selleck called the restaurant and bought a nice bottle of Meritage for Matthews’s table, which included Washington Post political correspondent Dan Balz, Politico columnist Roger Simon and Newsweek’s Howard Fineman, among others.

The hunk of the debate, however, was James Denton, the actor who plays the sexy plumber/handyman on “Desperate Housewives.” Denton was there as Haddad’s guest. She invited him after hearing that he had told folks at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington a few weeks ago that “Hardball” was his favorite show.

And how did Politico, the start-up online news organization, score its coveted role in co-hosting the debate? Because Fred Ryan, the chief operating officer of Allbritton Communications Company, which owns Politico, also happens to be chairman of the board of the Reagan library.

Bold in the original.

johnSwifty @ 99

That can’t be true…say it ain’t so. Karl is a genius, after all. His magic spreadsheets have been the oracle that have foretold the rise to supremacy of this authoritarian administration. His immaculate grasp of technology could not possibly fail to grasp the subtle nuance of a SCSI tape backup. His brain is too big for that!

And…He had the Math.

;>)

johnSwifty @ 99

…Karl is a genius, after all. His magic spreadsheets have been the oracle that have foretold the rise to supremacy of this authoritarian administration. His immaculate grasp of technology could not possibly fail to grasp the subtle nuance of a SCSI tape backup. His brain is too big for that!

Yah. A veritable Wyle E. Coyote, soooooper genius.

Think his brain’s gotten too gawddamned big for his baggy britches. He’s still living in a direct mail world, as far as I can tell.

darkblack @ 101

johnSwifty @ 99

That can’t be true…say it ain’t so. Karl is a genius, after all. His magic spreadsheets have been the oracle that have foretold the rise to supremacy of this authoritarian administration. His immaculate grasp of technology could not possibly fail to grasp the subtle nuance of a SCSI tape backup. His brain is too big for that!

And…He had the Math.

;>)

YES! Sweet Jesus, there was teh MATH! (will we be graced with an accompanying image db? ;-)

Rayne @ 97

Elliott @ 93

Mandrake’s right: Stop giving them ideas!

That’s the beauty of this mess: it’s too fricking late!

Think of all the backups in vaults, unattached to a computer or network — for starters.

Let alone all the copies that foreign agents have surely snagged and are sitting on at this moment. Mwee-heeheehee!

as an infectious laughter echos around the camp fire at the lake: Mwee-heeheehee! Mwee-haha!

OT…Speaking of coincidences in timing — Kansas cleanup equipment and their NG…in Iraq.

Huffington has this. Ed Schultz talked about it on his local Fargo show, so likely will be on his national show also.

Props to KFGO Fargo–always steps up to the plate with semi loads for disaster victims….

Dina Powell is leaving her job at the State Dept. Before that she

was Director of Congressional Affairs and Senior Advisor to the Chairman at the Republican National Committee from 1999 to 2001. She was Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director from 2001 to 2003. In 2003 Powell became the Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel…

Wiki

Gosh, I bet Waxman could learn some interesting tidbits from her. Just sayin. ;)

Tony Snow show on CSPAN 1.

Uh, what everybody else said about the data erasure/obstruction of justice thingies.

I was wondering if it hurts to have a sheep’s skull glued to the side of your neck as in the video!

Dude.

Bronski Beat last night, Erasure this morning.

We are now the gayest blog on the web.

Rayne @ 97

Elliott @ 93

Mandrake’s right: Stop giving them ideas!

That’s the beauty of this mess: it’s too fricking late!

Think of all the backups in vaults, unattached to a computer or network — for starters.

Let alone all the copies that foreign agents have surely snagged and are sitting on at this moment. Mwee-heeheehee!

It wasn’t me that said it cuz I’m not worried. They can’t do it. In the event they were stupid enough to try (which, as we all know, is a distinct possibility), they’d get caught. Their hands are tied on that one, IMHO.

Rayne @ 102

Think his brain’s gotten too gawddamned big for his baggy britches. He’s still living in a direct mail world, as far as I can tell.

Isn’t that just the ultimate irony. The free world has ultimately been subverted by a junk mail specialist. All the philosophers, great and small, thought that the decline of the Western civilization would be brought about by apathy or incivility or allure of the coin; but, sadly no, it appears it is the curse of the bulk mail offer that toppled the lofty ideals of the founding fathers. Gak!

Rayne, I’ve been busy and I apologize if you’ve given recent updates. How is your son in law?

The Dem committee chairs need to say very clearly that erasing data is a crime..18 U.S.C. 1512 c. and after 01/20/09 there will be follow up. Will there be consequences for Republican crimes after 01/20/09..I am not optimistic.

TRex @ 110

Dude.

Bronski Beat last night, Erasure this morning.

We are now the gayest blog on the web.

why not score the trifecta with Frankie Goes to Hollywood?

Is Mary Ann Akers for real?

Ryan told The Sleuth that Nancy Reagan wanted the library’s first ever presidential debate to be a “citizen participation type” of production, in which citizens could ask questions online. And that’s how the debate worked last night. “There were literally hundreds of thousands of people casting votes online,” Ryan said.

After choosing his conglomerate’s newest media gem to play host, Ryan went to Haddad to get Hardball’s Matthews on board. He said the library wanted someone “they knew and trusted” and Matthews had “always been a reliable partner.”

punaise @ 113

TRex @ 110

Dude.

Bronski Beat last night, Erasure this morning.

We are now the gayest blog on the web.

why not score the trifecta with Frankie Goes to Hollywood?

Pet Shop Boys FTW!

I believe the article is real and not suspicious.
I worked an an environment that was full of customer data and credit card numbers, plus employee data and business trade secrets. My preferred way to destroy a hard drive today remains very old skool – an ax (much better than a hammer as the blade of the ax will pierce the drives case and shatter the platters.

I believe with a software solution (loaded from a boot disk) you erase either the entire drive or a single partition. You cant just wipe your outlook express appdata folder and actually be rid of it. I doubt that any desk jockey’s computer at the DOJ has more than a single drive with a single partition.

If computers turned up that have brand new installs and no data pre-investigation, that is obstruction.

At my job we donated stuff all the time, truckloads of hardware, but never a hard drive in anything.

TRex @ 109

Dude.

Bronski Beat last night, Erasure this morning.

We are now the gayest blog on the web.

Oh, just wait until I tell my husband I’m hanging at the gayest blog.

WaPo politcs chat w/Romano:

Portland, Ore.: Hi Lois. Henry Waxman has issued a subpoena to Condi Rice asking for testimony before his committee, and Rice is saying she won’t testify — what’s the next act in this drama? Thanks.

Lois Romano: I don’t think Waxman will force her to testify– but nor will be drop the matter. the Democrats get alot of traction by just issuing the subpeona and keeping it in the media that she is declining.

Her other responses leave me thinking she’s Broder’s offspring. This one too.

punaise @ 112

TRex @ 110

Dude.

Bronski Beat last night, Erasure this morning.

We are now the gayest blog on the web.

why not score the trifecta with Frankie Goes to Hollywood?

I’d defer that…relax; don’t do it.

*g*

Biodun, I did see that, but I’m unwilling to linkup to Akers after her Dangerstein stenography. I did ask Kurtz about it today, though, and we’ll see if he takes my question, a followup to his dismissal of a reader’s characterization of politico.com as a GOP platform.

The Fred Ryan connection between the Reagan library and politico.com is telling, though. Haven’t seen it picked up elsewhere.

johnSwifty @ 112

Rayne @ 102

Think his brain’s gotten too gawddamned big for his baggy britches. He’s still living in a direct mail world, as far as I can tell.

Isn’t that just the ultimate irony. The free world has ultimately been subverted by a junk mail specialist. All the philosophers, great and small, thought that the decline of the Western civilization would be brought about by apathy or incivility or allure of the coin; but, sadly no, it appears it is the curse of the bulk mail offer that toppled the lofty ideals of the founding fathers. Gak!

I’ve been busy and I apologize if you’ve given recent updates. How is your son in law?

Mod Note: if your comment doesn’t appear immediately please give mods a bit of time to figure out why it got hung up. your comment is up at 112]

johnSwifty @100:

That’s the beauty of this whole thing. These bozos thought they had it all tied up in a nice big bow but they “misunderestimated” the power of the internets.

TRex- I hope we are one of the most political of blogs on the web.

Sigh.

Apologies if you guys have seen this, but the tornado cleanup equipment they need in Kansas is in Iraq.

Mutant Poodle @ 94

Peterr @ 88

That’s the problem with obstructing justice — all those damn loose ends. You’ve got to sweep each and every last one of them up, or you’re headed for the John Mitchell Suite in the federal prison system.

Can we resurrect Martha Mitchell and make Karl share the cell with her?

That would be cruel and unusual punishment for Martha. She may have been a lush, but she was a good hearted, good citizen lush who blew the whistle herself on some of ol’ John’s activities.

TeddySanFran:

I agree: Linking up to the enemy is double-edged. One might be giving them undue publicity. I only do it–rarely–to expose Gooper idiocy.

selise @ 14

OT (sorta) – scarecrow asked for a list of committee hearings for this week… here it is, in the epu-land of this morning’s first thread.

Thanks!

Bob in HI

Mandrake @ 111

It wasn’t me that said it cuz I’m not worried. They can’t do it. In the event they were stupid enough to try (which, as we all know, is a distinct possibility), they’d get caught. Their hands are tied on that one, IMHO.

It was me. Should I have been clearer that I was being, um, facetious?

Testing

TRex @ 124

Sigh.

Apologies if you guys have seen this, but the tornado cleanup equipment they need in Kansas is in Iraq.

Another catastraf#@k from the White House. And it’s never any of them who pay the price.

This is Romano on Raza (wolfies ‘friend’) and her clearance. She had said earlier that she’s been around for years and ‘must’ have had multiple clearances….then a followup:

Arlington, Va.: Even in the State Department you have to be a U.S. citizen to have a security clearance — no exceptions. You can get a limited access authorization in special circumstances within the executive branch. Are you sure she has a security clearance?

Lois Romano: No Im not. Im sure she cleared for whatever she is doing.

WTF! and bullshit, too.

More Kurtz’n’me:

San Francisco: Your opinion, please, on Brian Ross’s big buildup for last Friday’s “20/20″? Will other media outlets accept ABC’s word that the names are boring? Is anyone investigating this story now, or have you all decided there’s nothing to see here, move along? Made any calls to Blockbuster lately?

Howard Kurtz: Unless ABC wants to give me the phone records, I have no way of double-checking its judgment on the escort clients. It did sound like some fairly important people — CEOs, NASA officials, military officials — were on the list, but ABC deemed them not prominent enough to be newsworthy. ABC certainly acted with restraint, but it’s interesting that prominence is the standard on whether these people should be named or not.

Felony charges are not the main risk to the Bushies. Their real concern is that the Preznit won’t be able to sign all the pardons before he’s out the door. With so many padons needed, the little fellow may get a terrible case of writer’s cramp. It’s hard work being Preznit!

TeddySanFran:

This is what Greenwald has to say about Akers’s piece:

I also think it’s excellent that Akers — who calls herself “The Sleuth” at the top of her column — dug all of this up and then used her space in The Washington Post to report it. All of the names of the stars are bolded just like Page Six does it. And it’s particularly enjoyable how she skimmed right over the story of why a Reagan official is in charge of The Politico and what that means, and instead focused like a laser beam on the type of wine Selleck sent to the table (”a nice bottle of Meritage for Matthews’s table”).

TeddySanFran @ 130

More Kurtz’n’me:

San Francisco: Your opinion, please, on Brian Ross’s big buildup for last Friday’s “20/20″? Will other media outlets accept ABC’s word that the names are boring? Is anyone investigating this story now, or have you all decided there’s nothing to see here, move along? Made any calls to Blockbuster lately?

Howard Kurtz: Unless ABC wants to give me the phone records, I have no way of double-checking its judgment on the escort clients. It did sound like some fairly important people — CEOs, NASA officials, military officials — were on the list, but ABC deemed them not prominent enough to be newsworthy. ABC certainly acted with restraint, but it’s interesting that prominence is the standard on whether these people should be named or not.

Just a note that back when the NSA spying was breaking, Ross/ABC were targeted. Remember? Gonzo saying he’d prosecute reporters, and they were prominently mentioned, iirc.

Any reason my other #30 did not get posted?

TRex @ 125

Sigh.

Apologies if you guys have seen this, but the tornado cleanup equipment they need in Kansas is in Iraq.

At last, the long-awaited answer to the question: “What’s the matter with Kansas?”

Snow is warning reporters not to trust the polls.

He also says that as people come to understand what Bush is doing in Iraq (something they have apparently failed to do after 4 years), their attitudes will become more favorable.

These press briefings have become so divorced from reality that they have become a kind of theater of the absurd where even Samuel Beckett could learn a thing or two about the expression of mindless fuckery.

correction- other #130

Something no one has mentioned is the continuing march of technology and it’s impact on the equipment in use.

OS wise we’ve advanced(?) from Windowns 2000 to XP and now Vista. Equipment wise we’ve moved from Pentium 2’s to dual core processors and made a big move from big fat CRT’s to compact flat LED monitors.

Do you really expect to find the same computers on peoples desks today that were there when boosh took office.

I would also expect that these top of the food chain operators would be getting the new stuff every year or so.

If someone wanted to, the regular periodoc upgrading of computers offers a great opportunity for old files to dissappear.

Just thinking!

Has anyone ever seen Lois Romano and David Broder in the same room together? hmmmmm

Lois’s tooliness was excessive today. I got whiplash from her Riza/clearance answer: “No I’m not sure– yes I am sure!”

Mandrake @ 111

It wasn’t me that said it cuz I’m not worried. They can’t do it. In the event they were stupid enough to try (which, as we all know, is a distinct possibility), they’d get caught. Their hands are tied on that one, IMHO.

my bad, sorry Mandrake, it was Mutant Poodle what said that.

TRex @ 110

Dude.

Bronski Beat last night, Erasure this morning.

We are now the gayest blog on the web.

TRex! Up at daylight again??

punaise @ 57

South Specific: “I’m gonna wash those files right out of my hair”

“There is nothing like a Dem! Nothin’ in the world…”

“Oversi-i-ight will find you,
anytime, anywhere…”

TeddySanFran @ 90

Clueless Kurtz:

Anonymous: Hi, Howard. We hear incessantly about how this group or that group is funded by George Soros, as though that fact, by itself, proves the group’s political affiliations. But those groups do not purport to be nonpartisan newspapers or sources of news. The Politico claims exactly that. Surely it is notable that those who created The Politico, who are funding it, and who are in charge of its operations, are long-time Republican operatives and those firmly implanted in right-wing circles. What do you think?

Howard Kurtz: If John Harris, Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roger Simon are longtime Republican operatives, somehow it’s escaped my notice.

I wonder if Howie considers Fred Hiatt a longtime Republican operative? Or Sheri Annis, for that matter?

Badwater @ 134

Felony charges are not the main risk to the Bushies. Their real concern is that the Preznit won’t be able to sign all the pardons before he’s out the door. With so many padons needed, the little fellow may get a terrible case of writer’s cramp. It’s hard work being Preznit!

Is the Pardon pen as big as the Veto pen?

Blank Kludge @ 132

This is Romano on Raza (wolfies ‘friend’) and her clearance. She had said earlier that she’s been around for years and ‘must’ have had multiple clearances….then a followup:

Arlington, Va.: Even in the State Department you have to be a U.S. citizen to have a security clearance — no exceptions. You can get a limited access authorization in special circumstances within the executive branch. Are you sure she has a security clearance?

Lois Romano: No Im not. Im sure she cleared for whatever she is doing.

WTF! and bullshit, too.

Modifying this but keeping the same mental attitude:

Arlington, Va.: Bush lied us into a war that has dragged on for 4 long years with no end in sight. Can’t you start doing your job?

Lois Romano: No Im not. Im sure he knows what he is doing.

do-si-do @ 144

punaise @ 57

South Specific: “I’m gonna wash those files right out of my hair”

“There is nothing like a Dem! Nothin’ in the world…”

“Oversi-i-ight will find you,
anytime, anywhere…”

Two hundred and one pounds of fun,
That’s my little Turdblossom –
Get a load of Turdblossom to-ni-ight!

Milan River @ 140

correction- other #130

There’s nothing hiding backstage so it must have been some clogged toobz. Sorry.

Hugh @ 108

Tony Snow show on CSPAN 1.

Thanks for the heads-up. Snow’s certainly back to his old seff.

Never thought I’d say this, but after enduring the Ice Deb, I’m actually glad to see him.

And, of course, I’m glad to see him looking very healthy.

OT new Froomkin

We wonder why. (punaise: this one’s for you.)

From AP:

Filed at 12:07 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration on Monday welcomed the election of French President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy, a pro-American conservative, as an opportunity to strengthen relations with France.

”We certainly look forward to cooperation with the French,” White House press secretary Tony Snow said Monday. ”And we know that there are going to be areas of disagreement. But on the other hand, there are certainly real opportunities to work together on a broad range of issues.”

Milan — RBG at 150 beat me to it, but I’m not seeing anything stuck anywhere backstage either. Every once in a while one of my comments gets eaten, too — I chalk it up to a software or server hiccup and just retype. That’s likely what happened with yours because I’m not seeing any stuck comment from you (or anyone else at the moment, for that matter).

Brisingamen @ 148

South Specific: “I’m gonna wash those files right out of my hair”

“There is nothing like a Dem! Nothin’ in the world…”

“Oversi-i-ight will find you,
anytime, anywhere…”

Two hundred and one pounds of fun,
That’s my little Turdblossom –
Get a load of Turdblossom to-ni-ight!

“Clang, clang, clang went the folly
Ding, ding, ding – went to hell”

Completely OT, but isn’t it rather pathetic that the GOP is considering Fred Thompson their Great White Hope?

johnSwifty @ 67

If you want to wipe a drive past any point of retrievability, there is nothing better than a 5 pound magnet from your 70’s style power tower speaker. As well as being useful for picking up nails after roofing a house, one of these bad boys will set up an interesting magnetic interaction with a hard disk in close proximity such that it might not recover for standard service purposes, much less data mining for ghost images.

After an hour or two sitting on a 5 pound magnet, if you can fdisk the drive (once is good, twice is better) then you are probably safe from the CIA, FBI and NSA labs. Actually, you’re probably safe from almost anyone except a 15 year old with a basement full of hardware, time on his hands and no friends.

I’d keep a sharp eye out for delivery orders of large stereo speakers to any government offices. Those are the folks Henry should target!

There are magnets in stereo speakers? The enormity of what I DON’T know about technology never ceases to amaze me!

dakine01 @ 126
Mutant Poodle @ 94
Peterr @ 88
That’s the problem with obstructing justice — all those damn loose ends. You’ve got to sweep each and every last one of them up, or you’re headed for the John Mitchell Suite in the federal prison system.

–
Can we resurrect Martha Mitchell and make Karl share the cell with her?

–

That would be cruel and unusual punishment for Martha. She may have been a lush, but she was a good hearted, good citizen lush who blew the whistle herself on some of ol’ John’s activities.

–
I get such a vivid image of her now, in her peignoir, holding her cocktail, sitting down on the side of the bed, dialing the telephone. As it rings, she reaches for a cigarette.

[mod note: no more nesting quotes herein please]

Biodun @ 152

We wonder why. (punaise: this one’s for you.)

French President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy

hard times ahead in France. this guy is bad news.

TheOtherWA @ 64

do-si-do @ 39

I just received one of those retarded chain emails inviting me to drink the koolaid. It cites Oliver North as the first person to warn America about Osama Bin Laden. This email is an attempt to smear Gore as a stupid Dem who didn’t know who Osama Bin Laden was…

If the Repubs were/are so concerned, why didn’t they take care of business back then?

It’s already been debunked by North himself.
North’s website, has his response, click on “email response.”

Thank you!!!

Hugh @ 139

Snow is warning reporters not to trust the polls.

He also says that as people come to understand what Bush is doing in Iraq (something they have apparently failed to do after 4 years), their attitudes will become more favorable.
[snip]

fortress mentality developing

New thread–slow pokes

Mandrake @ 156

Completely OT, but isn’t it rather pathetic that the GOP is considering Fred Thompson their Great White Hope?

Speak of the devil, he’s at the podium now, CSPAN 1

punaise @ 159

Biodun @ 152

We wonder why. (punaise: this one’s for you.)

French President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy

hard times ahead in France. this guy is bad news.

Agreed and I think the pro-American bit is overplayed.

Fresh thready goodness, up and ready for the reading.

Hugh @ 138

Snow is warning reporters not to trust the polls.

He also says that as people come to understand what Bush is doing in Iraq (something they have apparently failed to do after 4 years), their attitudes will become more favorable.

These press briefings have become so divorced from reality that they have become a kind of theater of the absurd where even Samuel Beckett could learn a thing or two about the expression of mindless fuckery.

And the word ‘understand’ will never be the same.

looseheadprop @ 157

There are magnets in stereo speakers? The enormity of what I DON’T know about technology never ceases to amaze me!

I wouldn’t know enough legal Latin to mount a defense against J-walking. Each to her own arts…and I don’t think you need to apologize for not building a stereo system that can shatter glass in your younger years.

Hugh @ 163

We wonder why. (punaise: this one’s for you.)

French President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy

hard times ahead in France. this guy is bad news.

Agreed and I think the pro-American bit is overplayed.

in some narrow tactical matters it may behoove him, but I don’t look for an over-arching pro-American stance.

“La Vielle Europe” n’oublie pas si vite que cela.

Rayne @ 118

TRex @ 109

Dude.

Bronski Beat last night, Erasure this morning.

We are now the gayest blog on the web.

Oh, just wait until I tell my husband I’m hanging at the gayest blog.

Wow, I’m starting to feel all metro n’ stuff!

Milan river –

It’s there. When a comment gets caught in the filters, the mods free it up ASAP. For those who come to the thread AFTER it is freed, it appears in the queue just as it was submitted.

For folks ALREADY in the thread, however, it doesn’t show up unless you RELOAD THE PAGE. Simply “refreshing the comments” doesn’t do it.

It’s not a bug — it’s a feature.

Thanks RGB

Thanks Christy

Thanks Peterr

Elliott @ 163

Mandrake @ 156

Completely OT, but isn’t it rather pathetic that the GOP is considering Fred Thompson their Great White Hope?

Speak of the devil, he’s at the podium now, CSPAN 1

Yeah, I’m not really psychic. I happened to catch him right after the Snow speech which put the idea in my head. Actually, I can’t really take credit. Bill Maher started it, I think, about how this is such a laughable reflection on how desperate they are.

Didn’t Fred Thompson show up one day at Libby trial giving support and hugs to Libby?

I dont think a static magnet is enough to fully wipe a drive, that’s why there are degaussers and axes :)

I know I’m late to the party, but (in case anyone cares) the way to expunge data in fewer passes is to overwrite with other “plausible” data instead of ones and zeros or random data. You can try this at home:

Write several phone numbers on 3×5 cards (say, the first 20 off page 132 in your local white pages). On half the cards, try crossing the numbers out (using the same pen as you wrote with) for 10 seconds per card. On the others, simply overwrite the number with different (made up) phone numbers.

Have a friend (or friends) see how many of the original numbers they can reconstruct.

–MarkusQ

Peterr @ 88

If I’ve been sending out “problematic” emails from my DOJ/WH computer, wiping it clean would only be one element of the problem. There are also all those computers of the people to whom I sent my emails.

And if just one of those computers has an incriminating email . . .
And if just one of Henry’s subpoenas finds its way to that computer’s owner . . .

That’s the problem with obstructing justice — all those damn loose ends. You’ve got to sweep each and every last one of them up, or you’re headed for the John Mitchell Suite in the federal prison system.. . .

I’ve been thinking about John Mitchell lately. From the Wikipedia:

John Newton Mitchell (September 15, 1906 – November 9, 1988) was the first United States Attorney General ever to be convicted of illegal activities and imprisoned. He also served as campaign director for the Committee to Re-elect the President, which engineered the Watergate first break-in and employed Watergate burglar James W. McCord, Jr. in a “security” capacity. . . .
After he became president in January 1969, Nixon appointed Mitchell attorney general. Mitchell remained in office from 1969 until he resigned in 1972 to manage President Nixon’s successful reelection campaign. As attorney general, Mitchell believed that the government’s need for “law and order” justified restrictions on civil liberties. He advocated the use of wiretaps in national security cases without obtaining a court order and the right of police to employ the preventive detention of criminal suspects. He brought conspiracy charges against critics of the Vietnam War, and demonstrated a reluctance to involve the Justice Department in civil rights issues. “The Department of Justice is a law enforcement agency,” he told reporters. “It is not the place to carry on a program aimed at curing the ills of society.” . . . .
On February 21, 1975, Mitchell was found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury and sentenced to two and a half to eight years in prison for his role in the Watergate break-in and cover-up, which he dubbed the White House horrors.

However, Mitchell had resigned as attorney general 3 years before he was indicted, so the question of how to indict a sitting AG was mooted. Otherwise, there’s lots of similarities with the present situation.

Bob in HI

Prairie Sunshine @ 106

OT…Speaking of coincidences in timing — Kansas cleanup equipment and their NG…in Iraq.

Huffington has this. Ed Schultz talked about it on his local Fargo show, so likely will be on his national show also.

Props to KFGO Fargo–always steps up to the plate with semi loads for disaster victims….

Another example of the abuse of our National Guard, and why it matters. I hope the local papers make it front page news.

Bob in HI

Obstruction of Justice is good. Impeachment is better.

MarkusQ @ 176

I know I’m late to the party, but (in case anyone cares) the way to expunge data in fewer passes is to overwrite with other “plausible” data instead of ones and zeros or random data. You can try this at home:

Write several phone numbers on 3×5 cards (say, the first 20 off page 132 in your local white pages). On half the cards, try crossing the numbers out (using the same pen as you wrote with) for 10 seconds per card. On the others, simply overwrite the number with different (made up) phone numbers.

Have a friend (or friends) see how many of the original numbers they can reconstruct.

–MarkusQ

writing on disc is not the same as writing on paper, on a disc the newer “palusable” data would look differant then the older data

try your experiment using differant color pens and it would be very easy to figure out the original message

Perhaps this met with attention earlier in the day. I thought it was “cute” ;-)

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/169979.html

“Doolittle says raid was made to aid Gonzales
Congressman claims search of his house was STAGED so the attorney general looked tough on GOP before Senate hearing.”
By David Whitney – Bee Washington Bureau

“WASHINGTON-Rep. John Doolittle said in a weekend opinion article that he believes federal law enforcement agents staged a raid on his house last month, then LEAKED word of it in an effort to bolster Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as he was about to appear before a Senate committee probing the firing of federal prosecutors.

“I do not believe it was a coincidence that the leak came the day before Attorney General Gonzales testified before Congress on charges that his office was overly partisan in its firing of eight U.S. attorneys, especially considering Gonzales specifically cited his recent prosecution of Republican members of Congress as evidence to the contrary,” Doolittle wrote in an op-ed article published Saturday by the Auburn Journal.

Doolittle has been dangling the notion of a POLITICALLY INSPIRED search of his Oakton, Va., home since the raid was first reported in a Capitol Hill newspaper April 17. As recently as Thursday, in a telephone press conference with reporters, Doolittle said he was preparing to GO PUBLIC WITH INFORMATION about the search.”

During the search, he said that only his wife was at home and she was sequestered in the kitchen and kept under surveillance, prohibited from even going to the bathroom without an escort.

Maybe they feared she ate the notes, or had a secret stash in the bathroom!

Doolittle said their house was systematically searched, with agents “removing every book, turning over every couch cushion and every pot and pan, rummaging through every drawer, file cabinet, cupboard and closet.”

Yep! Looks like a staged search to me…pretty clear that they weren’t actually looking for anything. It was all a show, just a knock and a sit on the sofa with a loyal Republican!

He said many personal items were taken, even though the warrant pertained only to items related to Julie Doolittle’s business. “Julie’s personal journals, sensitive information about our two children, phone lists and personal files were all taken and have yet to be returned,” he said.

Materials observed that constitute evidence of criminal activities while searching for specificied materials listed in a Search Warrant are perfectly legal to confiscate.

Hmm! Personal journals~ Wonder if Julie wrote about her “private” acceptance of moneys from Abramoffand her discussions with Johnny about quid quo quos in those? Of course, such things would not be legitimate business items, would they!

Sensitive information about the daughters? Really? What would that be? I thought that these kids were perfect little cherubs who never got involved in “trouble”. “If you haven’t done anything wrong what’s there to hide?” But if they took these it may be because the children have received unreported “gifts”, scholarships, trips, lessons, etc. After all, Johnny Boy…you yourself used a Congressional junket to take your daughter to a resort in Malaysia, and even allowed a Malaysian businessman to give your daughter a TAILORED riding outfit. You got caught out and had to pay for these!

But left behind, Doolittle said, was a file folder with information about Julie Doolittle’s work for Abramoff.

Which, I suspect, was conveniently placed to be found! And contained matter already editted to misdirect investigators, and which had already been supplied to them. Redundant bulldada.

Doolittle said. “As such and while my political opponents work to exploit this incident to further propagate speculation of my guilt,

Doolittle: Karl Rove, Gonzo and Bush HATE ME! I’m being thrown under the bus! Why are they not defending me! I’m a loyal Republican, and raised millions for them. I wasn’t doing anything that other Republican Congressmen didn’t do…and, they themselves didn’t do! Whaaaaaaaaaah!

I ask my constituents to withhold judgment and stand with me in protecting my right and that of my wife to the presumption of innocence while we work to ensure that the truth is revealed.”

Yeah, presumption of innocence…like how you just blamed the Attorney General of staging the incident, leaking the information about the raid, and asserting that you had “information” that would prove this (which you didn’t). Doolittle, you are just one paranoid and corrupt goon!

Frank Probst @ 4
The next six months are critical. We need to give the lightbulb time to work.

As soon as the Republicans can get the Iraqi government to agree to get the electricity to run without a further power “surge”. This might burn out the light bulb. Of course, if they can get approval on a $100 billion light at the end of the tunnel, without schematic, they could leave a permanently dim bulb in the office.

And there is the old Republican adage, if you lose your car keys in the dark alley, go down to the lamp-post on the corner where there is the dim bulb to give you light.

Mandrake @ 58

Also, I am curious as to whether or not, if such a scrubbing program were to be implemented, wouldn’t it seem extremely suspect if NOTHING shows up, e.g., prima facie evidence that the e-mails and other docs subpoenaed were wiped out intentionally – that fraud was involved?

I mean, how much control would you be able to have over a program that is designed to just wipe out everything on a hard drive? You can’t really pick and choose, I would imagine, what you want to scrub.

This is the real danger. One could, perhaps, delete a PERSONAL strategy file…but anything that produced a document or email that could be found that derived from your machine would make an intentional deletion probable…especially if there were COMPLETE absence.

So if someone else received an email from that machine, and that mail was recovered or preserved from the recipient…but the senders post was utterly eradicated (not simply dumped into the monthly delete file)…that would be clear evidence of intentional efforts to eradicate the evidence.

Lots of folks serialize email, basically forgetting to erase prior communications making a long pyramid (or as we call them here – a ziggurut). That leaves a whole series of posts that would have to be preserved on the transmittors computer. If they are zapped…bad news!

Gaps in the records can be just as telling as what exists. The coordination to hide everything is Sisyphean, and requires even more communications and eradications, and individuals involved.Provided access can be obtained for these computers, and a fair bunch of investigators, it will be damn hard to conceal obstruction.