16 posts from May 2009

The total number shown (in the widget) represents the approximate numbers of service members discharged under "Don't Ask, Don' Tell" since January 20, 2009. SLDN calculated this number, an average, based on 2007 DADT discharge data supplied by the Pentagon. Every day 1.7 service members are discharged under the law.

28 May 2009

Nutro Products in the US is announcing a voluntary recall of dry cat foods because a production error led to incorrect levels of zinc and potassium in the food.

The Franklin, Tennessee-based company is recalling products in the U.S. and 10 other countries that had "best if used by dates" between May 12, 2010 and Aug. 22, 2010. The company says it hasn't received any complaints so far. Those who bought items affected by the recall should return it to the retailer.

The production error was made by a U.S.-based premix supplier. The recall does not involve Nutro dog food products, wet dog or cat food, or dog and cat treats.

“As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality.”

George Washington
American commander in chief of the colonial armies in the American Revolution (1775-83) and subsequently 1st US President (1789-97), 1732-1799

The Dallas Principles

On May 15-17, 2009 in Dallas, Texas twenty-four thinkers, activists, and donors gathered to discuss the immediate need for full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender people in the United States.  Collectively we prepared The Dallas Principles.

The following eight guiding principles underlie our call to action. 

In order to achieve full civil rights now, we avow:

1.Full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals must be enacted now.  Delay and excuses are no longer acceptable.

2.We will not leave any part of our community behind.

3.Separate is never equal.

4.Religious beliefs are not a basis upon which to affirm or deny civil rights.

5.The establishment and guardianship of full civil rights is a non-partisan issue.

6.Individual involvement and grassroots action are paramount to success and must be encouraged.

7.Success is measured by the civil rights we all achieve, not by words, access or money raised.

8.Those who seek our support are expected to commit to these principles.

The debate is over.

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Miami Dolphins defensive end Randy Starks was arrested early Sunday after police said he struck an officer with a slow-moving Freightliner truck, according to a police report.

LInk Via CNN: Miami Dolphins player arrested in Freightliner truck incident

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/24/s...

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Miami Dolphins defensive end Randy Starks was arrested early Sunday after police said he struck an officer with a slow-moving Freightliner truck, according to a police report.

A new attack that peppers Google search results with malicious links is spreading quickly, the US Computer Emergence Response Team has warned.

The attack, which has intensified in recent days, can be found on several thousand legitimate websites, according to security experts. It targets known flaws in Adobe's software and uses them to install a malicious program on victims' machines, CERT said.

The program then steals FTP login credentials from victims and uses that information to spread further. It also hijacks the victim's browser, replacing Google search results with links chosen by the attackers.

Story Link: Google results poisoned with malicious links News

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index...

The attack, which has intensified in recent days, can be found on several thousand legitimate websites, according to security experts. It targets known flaws in Adobe's software and uses them to install a malicious program on victims' machines, CERT said. The program then steals FTP login credentials from victims and uses that information to spread further. It also hijacks the victim's browser, replacing Google search results with links chosen by the attackers. Security experts started tracking the attack in March, when it had infected several hundred websites, but in recent weeks the number of infected sites has jumped dramatically. The attack has been called Gumblar because at one point it used the Gumblar.cn domain, though on Monday it had switched to a different one. Security vendor ScanSafe has counted more than 3,000 infected websites, up from around 800 just over a week ago. That kind of continued growth is unusual, according to Mary Landesman, a senior security researcher with ScanSafe. Attackers have launched many widespread web attacks over the past few years, but after a few months the total number of infected sites usually drops as webmasters clean up their servers. With Gumblar, more and more sites are now being infected. Landesman believes it's because Gumblar's creators have been good at obfuscating their attack code and making it harder to spot on infected sites. And because they've been stealing FTP login credentials, they've been able to use a few new tricks to get their software onto the sites. "They're doing things like changing folder permissions … and leaving behind multiple ways that they can get back into the server," she said. Still, web attacks have become so widespread that Gumblar remains a relatively small-scale phenomenon, according to Symantec Security Response Product Manager John Harrison. Last year, Symantec counted 18 million online attacks against its customers. With Gumblar, it has counted 10,000. "It's really just another da...

interesting, mildly amusing... The Dad is Wink Martindale.

A pre-conceived version of the internet.

NEW YORK (AFP) — Scientists in New York unveiled Tuesday the skeleton of what they said could be the common ancestor to humans, apes and other primates.

The tiny creature, officially known as Darwinius masillae, but dubbed Ida, lived 47 million years ago and is unusually well preserved, missing only part of a leg, or five percent of the skeleton.

The finding, described Tuesday in the PloS ONE scientific journal, was displayed at a press conference at New York's Natural History Museum, and is due to be the subject of a documentary on the History Channel, BBC and other broadcasters.

Organizers said that scientists led by Norway's fossil expert, professor Jorn Hurum, worked for two years on Ida, first discovered in 1983 by private collectors who failed to understand her importance -- and split the bones into two lots.

The monkey-like creature was preserved through the ages in Germany's Messel Pit, a crater rich in Eocene Epoch fossils.

Although bearing a long tail, she had several human characteristics, including an opposable thumb, short arms and legs, and forward facing eyes.

She also lacked two key elements of modern lemurs: a grooming claw and a row of lower teeth known as the toothcomb.

"This is the first link to all humans -- truly a fossil that links world heritage," Hurum said in a statement.

David Attenborough, the renowned British naturalist and broadcaster, said the "little creature is going to show us our connection with all the rest of the mammals."

"The link they would have said until now is missing... it is no longer missing," he said...

Maj. Steven Hutchison -- a 60-year-old soldier from Scottsdale, Arizona -- died on Sunday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra after a bomb went off near his vehicle 

Link: Vietnam vet is oldest Iraq casualty - CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/0...

(CNN) -- A Vietnam War veteran killed in an Iraq roadside bombing this week has become the oldest American service member to be killed in both Iraq and Afghan combat, the Pentagon has confirmed. Maj. Steven Hutchison -- a 60-year-old soldier from Scottsdale, Arizona -- died on Sunday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra after a bomb went off near his vehicle in the region. Hutchison spanned two war eras. He enlisted in the Army at 19 and served in Vietnam, according to a news report on CNN affiliate KNXV-TV. Hutchison wanted to serve again after the September 11, 2001, attack on the United States, but his wife opposed that.Don't MissU.S. and coalition casualties: IraqVet: Repeat deployments strain troopsSoldier charged with deaths of 5 comradesU.S. troops battle insurgents in Mosul His wife died of breast cancer in 2006 and Hutchison was "devastated," his brother Richard Hutchison told KNXV. Steve Hutchison jogged, got into great physical shape and returned to Army active duty at age 59 in Afghanistan and then Iraq. He had been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas. "He's been a soldier his whole life," Richard Hutchison said. E-mail to a friend Share this on: