Cyber Security - Stuxnet virus could target many industries

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By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press

WASHINGTON – A malicious computer attack that appears to target Iran's nuclear plants can be modified to wreak havoc on industrial control systems around the world, and represents the most dire cyberthreat known to industry, government officials and experts said Wednesday.

They warned that industries are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the so-called Stuxnet worm as they merge networks and computer systems to increase efficiency. The growing danger, said lawmakers, makes it imperative that Congress move on legislation that would expand government controls and set requirements to make systems safer.

The complex code is not only able to infiltrate and take over systems that control manufacturing and other critical operations, but it has even more sophisticated abilities to silently steal sensitive intellectual property data, experts said.

Dean Turner, director of the Global Intelligence Network at Symantec Corp., told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that the "real-world implications of Stuxnet are beyond any threat we have seen in the past."

Analysts and government officials told the senators they remain unable to determine who launched the attack. But the design and performance of the code, and that the bulk of the attacks were in Iran, have fueled speculation that it targeted Iranian nuclear facilities.

Turner said there were 44,000 unique Stuxnet computer infections worldwide through last week, and 1,600 in the United States. Sixty percent of the infections were in Iran, including several employees' laptops at the Bushehr nuclear plant.

Iran has said it believes Stuxnet is part of a Western plot to sabotage its nuclear program, but experts see few signs of major damage at Iranian facilities.

A senior government official warned Wednesday that attackers can use information made public about the Stuxnet worm to develop variations targeting other industries, affecting the production of everything from chemicals to baby formula.

"This code can automatically enter a system, steal the formula for the product you are manufacturing, alter the ingredients being mixed in your product and indicate to the operator and your antivirus software that everything is functioning as expected," said Sean McGurk, acting director of Homeland Security's national cybersecurity operations center.

Stuxnet specifically targets businesses that use Windows operating software and a control system designed by Siemens AG. That combination, said McGurk, is used in many critical sectors, from automobile assembly to mixing products such as chemicals.

Turner added that the code's highly sophisticated structure and techniques also could mean that it is a one-in-a-decade occurrence. The virus is so complex and costly to develop "that a select few attackers would be capable of producing a similar threat," he said.

Experts said governments and industries can do much more to protect critical systems.

Michael Assante, who heads the newly created, not-for-profit National Board of Information Security Examiners, told lawmakers that control systems need to be walled off from other networks to make it harder for hackers to access them. And he encouraged senators to beef up government authorities and consider placing performance requirements and other standards on the industry to curtail unsafe practices and make systems more secure.

"We can no longer ignore known system weaknesses and simply accept current system limitations," he said. "We must admit that our current security strategies are too disjointed and are often, in unintended ways, working against our efforts to address" cybersecurity challenges.

The panel chairman, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said legislation on the matter will be a top priority after lawmakers return in January.
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Cyber Security - U.S. Warns Of 'Huge' Cyber Threats

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Departments of Defense and Homeland Security are monitoring Stuxnet worm and China, among other critical infrastructure risks.

By Elizabeth Montalbano , InformationWeek

Officials from the Departments of Defense (DoD) and Homeland Security (DHS) this week warned that the prospect of a cyber attack remains imminent even as their agencies continue to monitor threats to U.S. critical infrastructure.

More Government Insights

Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates said the future threat of a cyber attack is "huge," while there is a "considerable current threat."

"That's just the reality we all face," he said according to a transcript of his comments.

He said the DoD thinks it has adequately secured the .mil domain but is working to protect U.S. partners in the defense industrial industry so they are shielded.

National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center

Gates added that the DoD's recent agreement with the National Security Agency to work together more closely on cybersecurity also should help the federal government protect its websites from intrusion.

His comments came only a day before a report by a congressional commission unveiled that China Telecom diverted traffic for 18 minutes in April from U.S. government sites -- including those from the .mil and .gov domains -- away from normal traffic routing and through servers in China.

While the annual report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said it could not determine what China was doing with the traffic, a report by Northrop Grumman prepared for the same commission last year said that China is likely using the Internet to spy on the U.S. government in preparation for a future cyber attack.

If China isn't enough to worry about, there is also Stuxnet, a complex computer worm, which was discovered in July when it was believed to be targeting Iranian power plants.

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs convened Thursday to discuss how to protect U.S. critical infrastructure in light of Stuxnet.

Testifying before the committee, Sean McGuirk, acting director of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center at the DHS, said that federal officials have considerable concern about Stuxnet because of the unique nature of the threat it poses.

Stuxnet, unlike other computer worms, is highly complex, containing more than 4,000 functions, which is comparable to the code in some commercial software, he said, according to a transcript of his testimony.

The worm also is difficult to detect because it "uses a variety of previously seen individual cyber attack techniques, tactics, and procedures, automates them, and hides its presence so that the operator and the system have no reason to suspect that any malicious activity is occurring," McGuirk said.

DHS officials also are concerned that the underlying Stuxnet code could be adapted to target a broad range of control systems -- such as the electricity grid and power plants -- in "any number of critical infrastructure sectors," he added.

To combat Stuxnet, the DHS has been analyzing and reporting on the worm since its detection and has briefed dozens of government and industry organizations, as well as advised the control systems industry about how to detect and mitigate an attack

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Cyber Security - America's Achilles Heel - Threatens People and Corporations

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For over 15 years I have been writing about the Internet and cyber security, in particular the sorry state of cyber security on the Internet. During that time internet theft, hacking and multi-billion dollar business losses have become the cost of doing business in our modern world.

The dot.com bust of 2000, just ten years ago, demonstrated how the booming Internet was way over-valued by the greed mongers on Wall Street and in less than two years Internet companies lost an astonishing 78% of their valuation sending many an investor in hot Internet stocks to the poor house.

It was the first real sign of the immaturity of the Internet corporate culture. After ten years of progress the business plans and expanded use of the Internet have been apparent, but the evolution of cyber security has been dismal. While processing power and software sophistication has been leaping generations ahead in recent years, computer security through legacy systems, those that have been around for years, remain stuck in first generation technology trying to meet a need far beyond the capabilities of the past.

The Internet, with it's lack of government regulation and no borders, has become the premiere and preferred method of crime in the 21st century extending from no holds barred pornography to forced child prostitution, from stealing music and movies to raiding bank and credit card accounts, from stealing proprietary corporate information to hacking into top secret government files.

So complete is the saturation of crime into the Internet that it reigns supreme in terms of bank, credit card and cell phone theft, pornography and child slavery, prostitution and illegal gambling, theft of music and movies to pedophiles stalking our children. Yet there have been no real innovations in computer security for nearly a decade. Then again, the legacy security providers are making billions of dollars selling virtually obsolete cyber protection so why would they change?

As General Motors and anyone involved long term in technology knows, the minute you rest on your laurels and rely on products of the past to meet future needs you become a technology Neanderthal.  Like GM, you then fall from number one in the world into the throes of bankruptcy.  In the world of cyber security, if you rely on older systems to meet new technological advances you become victims of the cyber criminals who have stayed one step ahead of existing security systems.

Are you or your children safe on the Internet? Of course not. Can you be safe with the right cyber security? Of course not if it is a legacy system because it is like trying to play a digital download on an old cassette recorder. Legacy systems were the first generation security and they are now technically obsolete. But there are new generation security systems coming to the market that are designed to meet your needs of the future, not just the past.

Using fascinating new technologies to enhance the stealth or invisible appearance of your records and personal information, using algorithms never before in existence and incredible cloning techniques that may only be found in the most technologically advanced intelligence and defense security systems, there is hope for internet users, especially the unsuspecting youth who have become obsessed with the Internet.

We have been made aware of impending announcements of historical new achievements in Internet or cyber security that will finally make the protection of computer users the first consideration instead of the last consideration in the evolvement of computer technology. You should watch for these announcements and check them out as it may finally give you the piece of mind that big brother and the cyber thieves may no longer control the Internet as our dependence on the Internet continues to grow at warp speed. There are new ways of protecting your rights and records on the immediate horizon.
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Antimatter atoms produced and trapped at CERN

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CERN

Antimatter atoms produced and trapped at CERN

This press release is available in French at end of story.

Geneva, 17 November 2011. The ALPHA experiment at CERN has taken an important step forward in developing techniques to understand one of the Universe's open questions: is there a difference between matter and antimatter? In a paper published in Nature today, the collaboration shows that it has successfully produced and trapped atoms of antihydrogen. This development opens the path to new ways of making detailed measurements of antihydrogen, which will in turn allow scientists to compare matter and antimatter.

Antimatter – or the lack of it – remains one of the biggest mysteries of science. Matter and its counterpart are identical except for opposite charge, and they annihilate when they meet. At the Big Bang, matter and antimatter should have been produced in equal amounts. However, we know that our world is made up of matter: antimatter seems to have disappeared. To find out what has happened to it, scientists employ a range of methods to investigate whether a tiny difference in the properties of matter and antimatter could point towards an explanation.

One of these methods is to take one of the best-known systems in physics, the hydrogen atom, which is made of one proton and one electron, and check whether its antimatter counterpart, antihydrogen, consisting of an antiproton and a positron, behaves in the same way. CERN is the only laboratory in the world with a dedicated low-energy antiproton facility where this research can be carried out.

The antihydrogen programme goes back a long way. In 1995, the first nine atoms of man-made antihydrogen were produced at CERN. Then, in 2002, the ATHENA and ATRAP experiments showed that it was possible to produce antihydrogen in large quantities, opening up the possibility of conducting detailed studies. The new result from ALPHA is the latest step in this journey.

Antihydrogen atoms are produced in a vacuum at CERN, but are nevertheless surrounded by normal matter. Because matter and antimatter annihilate when they meet, the antihydrogen atoms have a very short life expectancy. This can be extended, however, by using strong and complex magnetic fields to trap them and thus prevent them from coming into contact with matter. The ALPHA experiment has shown that it is possible to hold on to atoms of antihydrogen in this way for about a tenth of a second: easily long enough to study them. Of the many thousands of antiatoms the experiment has created, ALPHA's latest paper reports that 38 have been trapped for long enough to study.

"For reasons that no one yet understands, nature ruled out antimatter. It is thus very rewarding, and a bit overwhelming, to look at the ALPHA device and know that it contains stable, neutral atoms of antimatter," said Jeffrey Hangst of Aarhus University, Denmark, spokesman of the ALPHA collaboration. "This inspires us to work that much harder to see if antimatter holds some secret."

In another recent development in CERN's antimatter programme, the ASACUSA experiment has demonstrated a new technique for producing antihydrogen atoms. In a paper soon to appear in Physical Review Letters, the collaboration reports success in producing antihydrogen in a so-called Cusp trap, an essential precursor to making a beam. ASACUSA plans to develop this technique to the point at which beams of sufficient intensity will survive for long enough to be studied.

"With two alternative methods of producing and eventually studying antihydrogen, antimatter will not be able to hide its properties from us much longer," said Yasunori Yamazaki of Japan's RIKEN research centre and a member of the ASACUSA collaboration. "There's still some way to go, but we're very happy to see how well this technique works."

"These are significant steps in antimatter research," said CERN Director General Rolf Heuer, "and an important part of the very broad research programme at CERN."

Full information about the ASACUSA approach will be made available when the paper is published.



By FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press Frank Jordans, Associated Press – Thu Nov 18, 8:03 am ET

GENEVA – Scientists claimed a breakthrough Thursday in solving one of the biggest riddles of physics, successfully trapping the first "anti-atom" in a quest to understand what happened to all the antimatter that has vanished since the Big Bang.

An international team of physicists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, managed to create an atom of anti-hydrogen and then hold onto it for long enough to demonstrate that it can be studied in the lab.

"For us it's a big breakthrough because it means we can take the next step, which is to try to compare matter and antimatter," the team's spokesman, American scientist Jeffrey Hangst, told The Associated Press.

"This field is 20 years old and has been making incremental progress toward exactly this all along the way," he added. "We really think that this was the most difficult step."

For decades, researchers have puzzled over why antimatter seems to have disappeared from the universe.

Theory posits that matter and antimatter were created in equal amounts at the moment of the Big Bang, which spawned the universe some 13.7 billion years ago. But while matter — defined as having mass and taking up space — went on to become the building block of everything that exists, antimatter has all but disappeared except in the lab.

Hangst and his colleagues, who included scientists from Britain, Brazil, Canada, Israel and the United States, trapped 38 anti-hydrogen for about one tenth of a second, according to a paper submitted to the respected science journal Nature.

Since their first success, the team has managed to hold the anti-atoms even longer.

"Unfortunately I can't tell you how long, because we haven't published the number yet," Hangst told the AP. "But I can tell you that it's much, much longer than a tenth of a second. Within human comprehension on a real clock."

Scientists have long been able to create individual particles of antimatter such as anti-protons, anti-neutrons and positrons — the opposite of electrons. Since 2002, they have also managed to lump these particles together to form anti-atoms, but until recently none could be trapped for long enough to study them, because atoms made of antimatter and matter annihilate each other in a burst of energy upon contact.

"It doesn't help if they disappear immediately upon their creation," said Hangst. "So the big goal has been to hold onto them."

Two teams had been competing for that goal at CERN, the world's largest physics lab best known for its $10 billion smasher, the Large Hadron Collider. The collider, built deep under the Swiss-French border, wasn't used for this experiment.

Hangst's ALPHA team got there first, beating the rival ATRAP team led by Harvard physicist Gerald Gabrielse, who nevertheless welcomed the result.

"The atoms that were trapped were not yet trapped very long and in a very usable number, but one has to crawl before you sprint," he told the AP.

Many new techniques painstakingly developed over five years of experimental trial and error preceded the successful capture of anti-hydrogen.

To trap the anti-atoms inside an electromagnetic field and to stop them from annihilating atoms, researchers had to create anti-hydrogen at temperatures less than half a degree above absolute zero.

"Think of it as a marble rolling back and forth in a bowl," said Hangst. "If the marble is rolling too fast (i.e. the anti-atom is too hot) it just goes over the edge."

Next, scientists plan to conduct basic experiments on the anti-atom, such as shining a laser onto it and seeing how it behaves, he said.

"We have a chance to make a really precise comparison between a matter system and an antimatter system," he said, "That's unique, that's never been done. That's where we're headed now."

Hangst downplayed speculation that antimatter might someday be harnessed as a source of energy, or to create a powerful weapon, an idea popularized in Dan Brown's best-selling novel "Angels and Demons."

"It would take longer than the age of the universe to make one gram of antimatter," he said, calling the process "a losing proposition because it takes much more energy to make antimatter than you get out of it."

French translation

Des atomes d'antimatière produits et capturés au CERN

Ce communiqué est disponible en anglais.

Genève, le 17 novembre 2011. L'expérience ALPHA au CERN1 vient de réaliser une avancée importante dans le développement de techniques pour comprendre l'une des énigmes de l'Univers, à savoir, ce qui différencie la matière de l'antimatière. Dans un article publié aujourd'hui dans la revue Nature, la collaboration annonce qu'elle a réussi à produire et à capturer des atomes d'antihydrogène. Cette avancée va ouvrir la voie à de nouvelles méthodes pour réaliser des mesures précises sur l'antihydrogène, et ainsi permettre aux scientifiques de comparer la matière et l'antimatière.

L'antimatière – ou plutôt l'absence d'antimatière – reste l'un des plus grands mystères de la science. La matière et l'antimatière sont identiques, mais ont une charge opposée. Elles s'annihilent au contact l'une de l'autre. Lors du big bang, matière et antimatière devraient avoir été produites en quantité égale. Or, nous savons que notre monde est constitué uniquement de matière : l'antimatière semble avoir disparu. Pour découvrir ce qu'il est advenu de l'antimatière, les scientifiques utilisent diverses méthodes qui ont pour but de déterminer si une infime différence entre les propriétés de la matière et celles de l'antimatière pourrait apporter un début d'explication.

L'une de ces méthodes consiste à prendre l'un des systèmes les mieux connus de la physique, l'atome d'hydrogène, constitué d'un proton et d'un électron, et de vérifier si son homologue dans l'antimatière, l'antihydrogène, constitué d'un antiproton et d'un positon, se comporte de la même manière. Le CERN, avec son installation pour antiprotons de basse énergie, est le seul laboratoire au monde où de telles recherches puissent être menées.

Le programme antihydrogène ne date pas d'hier. En 1995, les neufs premiers atomes d'antihydrogène produits en laboratoire l'ont été au CERN. Puis, en 2002, les expériences ATHENA et ATRAP ont montré qu'il était possible de produire de grandes quantités d'antihydrogène, et ainsi ouvert la voie à la réalisation d'études détaillées. Le nouveau résultat d'ALPHA constitue la plus récente des étapes de ce voyage.

Les atomes d'antihydrogène sont certes produits sous vide au CERN, mais ils sont entourés de matière ordinaire. La matière et l'antimatière s'annihilant au contact l'une de l'autre, ces atomes d'antihydrogène ont une espérance de vie très brève. Celle-ci peut toutefois être allongée à l'aide de champs magnétiques intenses et complexes qui permettent de capturer les atomes d'antihydrogène et ainsi d'empêcher qu'ils entrent en contact avec la matière. L'expérience ALPHA a montré qu'il est possible de conserver de cette manière des atomes d'antihydrogène pendant un dixième de seconde, un laps de temps suffisamment long pour pouvoir les étudier. Sur les milliers d'antiatomes produits par l'expérience ALPHA, 38, selon le dernier résultat, ont été capturés suffisamment longtemps pour être étudiés.

Pour des raisons que l'on ignore encore, la nature a exclu l'antimatière. Il est donc très gratifiant et assez impressionnant de savoir que le dispositif d'ALPHA contient des atomes, neutres et stables, d'antimatière, explique Jeffrey Hangst, de l'Université d'Aarhus (Danemark), et porte-parole de la collaboration ALPHA. Cela nous incite à poursuivre nos efforts pour découvrir les secrets de l'antimatière.

Toujours dans le cadre du programme antimatière du CERN, l'expérience ASACUSA a mis au point récemment une nouvelle technique pour produire des atomes d'antimatière. Dans un article qui paraîtra prochainement dans Physical Review Letters, la collaboration annonce qu'elle a réussi à produire de l'antihydrogène dans un « piège à étranglement », étape préalable indispensable en vue de la production d'un faisceau. ASACUSA envisage de développer cette technique afin de pouvoir disposer de faisceaux d'intensité suffisante et d'une durée de vie assez longue pour être étudiés.

Nous disposons désormais de deux méthodes pour produire et finalement étudier l'antihydrogène ; l'antimatière ne devrait donc pas pouvoir conserver ses secrets encore bien longtemps, estime Yasunori Yamazaki, du centre de recherche japonais RIKEN, et membre de la collaboration ASACUSA. Il reste encore du chemin à parcourir, mais nous sommes ravis de constater que cette technique fonctionne aussi bien.

Ces résultats représentent des avancées importantes pour la recherche sur l'antimatière, a déclaré le Directeur général du CERN, Rolf Heuer, et tiennent une place importante dans le vaste programme de recherches mené au CERN.

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Is GE censuring MSNBC News Shows against competing Interests? Today T. Boone Pickens got cut off.

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Perhaps it is a good thing GE has sold NBC to Comcast because it will finally get GE out of the habit of cutting off news show guests on MSNBC who take positions opposed to the GE/NBC party line. For the second time in the past few weeks a guest on MSNBC Morning Joe Show was cut off mid-sentence while making a powerful point that was contrary to GE financial interests.

This time it was energy advocate T. Boone Pickens who has devoted millions of his own dollars and two and a half years to trying to get Congress to wake up to using natural gas to lead the nation on a responsible path to energy independence. GE is the powerful lobby for alternative energy because they want to own the infrastructure for electric autos.

The minute Pickens said natural gas could replace our 18 wheeler fleet of 8 million trucks in just 7 years, and eliminate 50% of the OPEC oil dependence of the US, he was opposing the GE electric view of the future. Pickens gave a very sound argument for the conversion pointing out that in terms of comparable cost for fuel, just $4 of natural gas equaled $22 of oil. At the same time gas was 40% cleaner and there was no refining of natural gas like there is oil.

All of these arguments show that electric cars are still not going to compete on a large scale until well into the future when GE has bet on lobbying congress for huge short term electric infrastructure money. So as Pickens was rattling off a list of short term benefits of natural gas over electric he suddenly was cut off at 7:55 am and when the broadcast returned there was Senator Kerry replacing Pickens and arguing for the carbon tax, investment in infrastructure for electric, and saying the American public must stop looking at huge energy tax increases as tax increases? What in the world is he saying other than spend and tax more and buy GE stock?

Just last November 4 we wrote a story titled "Was Queen Noor Al-Hussein of Jordan Censured by NBC over Middle East Views during MSNBC Morning Joe Appearance?" In her case she was just explaining how the Israelis were undermining the peace process in the Middle East and was cut off by NBC.

Since GE and NBC operate the television networks over publicly licensed airways it would seem NBC and GE might very well be using unfair business practices to censor guests who do not pitch the company party line. When private corporations involved in business heavily dependent on government regulation and control attempt to influence public opinion by cutting off opposition views in mid-sentence, there is a serious problem in our system.

It seems the FCC or FTC should look into these cases of potential censorship to see if the public airways are being unfairly used to promote the special interests of the owners. As for the Morning Joe Show, they should be a lot more courteous to the guests that oppose the GE and NBC party line rather than being used by the corporate interests as a de facto lobbying arm.
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If politicians and news media took an oath of silence things might get fixed

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If politicians did not have to campaign all the time and if the news media did not have to sell advertising there would be a lot less tension in our nation. Then they would be free to tell us just the truth and we would have a far more honest and hopeful picture of America.

For example, the headlines scream of the battle over extending the Bush tax cuts. What disagreement? They will be extended for all Americans for probably two years. End of controversy. What about the new START treaty with Russia that has been stuck in the Senate? Today the headlines said the GOP Whip declared the treaty dead. Nonsense!

All the politicians know reducing nuclear arms with Russia is a good thing, duh. Insiders also know our nuclear weapons are older than our Space Shuttles which have now flown their last mission because they are obsolete. Our current nuclear weapons need to be replaced with modern weapons using the most advanced technology. Add some money to modernize some of our weapons and the treaty will pass, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will be a hero, and Prime Minister and soon to be President again Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin will have to wait to become the super-hero of the super-power.

So what about the bitter battle between alternative energy advocates and conventional energy advocates and their demands for a green future and energy independence? The truth is we have to become energy independent from foreign oil producers who manipulate the prices and supply and threaten our national security. We also need to make the most of green activities to reduce waste and reduce dependence on non-renewal energy like oil.

Forget the political fighting and special interest civil war. Forget the doom and gloom forecasts, special reports and movies by the news media of the destruction and chaos from an energy crisis. One day the president and congress will come to their senses and realize both things must happen.

We can have energy independence from the bad guys by exploiting natural gas, from America, and using it to replace 40-50% of our energy demand. At the same time more domestic oil from the Gulf, Alaska and offshore is needed. One goal of natural gas should be to use it in all semi-trailer trucks to replace diesel fuel currently in use. Diesel is from oil so this could reduce total domestic oil consumption by half.

It is true we are the biggest oil consumer in the world using 22 million barrels a year but Canada and Saudi Arabia use more oil per capita. Saudi Arabia uses 33 barrels per capita, Canada 24, the US 22, South Korea 16, Japan 13, Germany and France 11, the UK and Italy 10, and far down the list are China at 2 and India at less than 1 barrel per year per capita.

Imagine that, the two fastest growing and feared economies in the world, China and India, use a fraction of the oil per person as we do. Of course that is not from good energy conservation, it is a result of their much poorer standard of living, minimum wages and lack of commercial choices in much of these two emerging nations. As they evolve their oil consumption will sky rocket and soon enough they will be like us.

Alternative energy can help a little in the areas of electric cars, solar energy and improved conservation materials but contrary to popular myth, neither will help reduce energy use much. Oil savings must be offset by the high cost of electric generation and maintenance of the alternative. Wind turbines will most likely have even higher operating costs.

If global warming was truly a human created environmental disaster these alternatives might help. But then so does natural gas replacing oil reduce carbon emissions since it is much more efficient. However, since there have been at least four previous periods of global warming followed by ice ages, and we are yet to find evidence of gas stations, automobiles, or hair dryers in any of these previous ages, in fact there weren't even any carbon spewing humans alive back then, then we can assume with or without us Mother Nature will have her global warming and cooling cycles to purify the planet.

So, as for the debate over energy policy, combine aggressive energy independence through expanded natural gas use, oil drilling and alternative techniques combined with an energy compact with our neighbors Mexico and Canada, and we can have the best attack on energy independence and alternative energy possible.

The same thing is true with the economy and our entitlement programs which give politicians and news media a real chance to scare us. I mean without a strong economy and protected entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare neither we when we retire or our kids yet to be born will be safe in the future. Right now if we have a job we wonder for how long and if we don't things don't seem inclined to change any time soon.

Both the media and the politicians are having a field day with scary stories written to make you afraid of the future. Think about it for a minute before embracing their fear tactics. Is there really any Republican or Democrat in congress who is going to get rid of your pension or earned health benefits? Do they really want you to have worse health care? What nonsense!

Whatever it takes to reduce the deficit from 20% of gnp to 3% of gnp will happen. The super rich should pay more by making certain they don't benefit more than the middle class in tax benefits. Today Warren Buffett, one of the richest billionaires in the world, said he was in the highest tax bracket yet only paid 17% taxes because of tax deductions, a lower percent than his secretaries and office workers who paid up to 34%. Warren said there should be a minimum tax paid by the rich and even with the all deductions they should never pay a lower tax rate than the middle class.

So we have a minimum high tax rate for the rich so they pay their fair share. We extend Social Security retirement a couple of years, make all Medicare and Medicaid recipients use alternative health care like traditional Chinese or Native American for annual maintenance and natural treatment. Instead of rewarding you to be sick by giving you more tests, prescription drugs, doctor and hospital visits, you will be rewarded to be well and use preventive maintenance. This is the only way to reduce health care costs while improving results.

Things may be tough, but they are far from bad. We are still the most powerful economic force on Earth with a gross national income of $9.8 trillion a year, while China is at $1.2 trillion and India is less than one half a trillion. Our old friends and allies of Japan $4.5 trillion, Germany $1.9, UK $1.4 and France $1.3 all are bigger than China or India.

There is only one nation on earth too big to fail because the future of every other country on earth is dependent on the United States for their own economic survival. Love us or hate us they still can't survive without us. So cheer up folks, in due time all will be well again. We are the United States of America, the people not the politicians, the industry not the government, the small business not the entitlements, and no one is going to take that away!
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Salvatore A. Giunta, the first living Medal of Honor winner since Vietnam

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Iowa native does good!

Born in Clinton, Iowa, on January 21, 1985, in a family of Italian descent, Giunta grew up in Cedar Rapids and Hiawatha. His parents, Steven, a medical equipment technician, and Rosemary, a preschool teacher, live in Hiawatha. He has two younger siblings, Mario and Katie. Giunta attended John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids and enlisted in the Army in November 2003. He married Jennifer Lynn Mueller, a native of Dubuque, in October 2009 after several years of dating.

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. Please be seated. On behalf of Michelle and myself, welcome to the White House. Thank you, Chaplain Carver, for that beautiful invocation.

Of all the privileges that come with serving as President of the United States, I have none greater than serving as Commander-in-Chief of the finest military that the world has ever known. And of all the military decorations that a President and a nation can bestow, there is none higher than the Medal of Honor.

Today is particularly special. Since the end of the Vietnam War, the Medal of Honor has been awarded nine times for conspicuous gallantry in an ongoing or recent conflict. Sadly, our nation has been unable to present this decoration to the recipients themselves, because each gave his life -- his last full measure of devotion -- for our country. Indeed, as President, I have presented the Medal of Honor three times -- and each time to the families of a fallen hero.

Today, therefore, marks the first time in nearly 40 years that the recipient of the Medal of Honor for an ongoing conflict has been able to come to the White House and accept this recognition in person. It is my privilege to present our nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, to a soldier as humble as he is heroic: Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta.

Now, I’m going to go off-script here for a second and just say I really like this guy. (Laughter and applause.) I think anybody -- we all just get a sense of people and who they are, and when you meet Sal and you meet his family, you are just absolutely convinced that this is what America is all about. And it just makes you proud. And so this is a joyous occasion for me -- something that I have been looking forward to.

The Medal of Honor reflects the gratitude of an entire nation. So we are also joined here today by several members of Congress, including both senators and several representatives from Staff Sergeant Giunta’s home state of Iowa. We are also joined by leaders from across my administration and the Department of Defense, including the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. Where’s Mike? There he is, right there. Army Secretary John McHugh; and Chief of Staff of the Army, General George Casey.

We are especially honored to be joined by Staff Sergeant Giunta’s fellow soldiers, his teammates and brothers from Battle Company, 2d of the 503d of the 173d Airborne Brigade; and several members of that rarest of fraternities that now welcomes him into its ranks -- the Medal of Honor Society. Please give them a big round of applause. (Applause.)

We also welcome the friends and family who made Staff Sergeant Giunta into the man that he is, including his lovely wife, Jenny; and his parents, Steven and Rosemary; as well as his siblings, who are here. It was his mother, after all, who apparently taught him as a young boy in small-town Iowa how to remove the screen from his bedroom window in case of fire. (Laughter.) What she didn’t know was that by teaching Sal how to jump from his bedroom and sneaking off in the dead of night, she was unleashing a future paratrooper -- (laughter) -- who would one day fight in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan 7,000 miles away.

During the first of his two tours of duty in Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Giunta was forced early on to come to terms with the loss of comrades and friends. His team leader at the time gave him a piece of advice: “You just try -- you just got to try to do everything you can when it’s your time to do it.” You’ve just got to try to do everything you can when it’s your time to do it.

Salvatore Giunta’s time came on October 25, 2007. He was a Specialist then, just 22 years old.

Sal and his platoon were several days into a mission in the Korengal Valley -- the most.... ....dangerous valley in northeast Afghanistan. The moon was full. The light it cast was enough to travel by without using their night-vision goggles. With heavy gear on their backs, and air support overhead, they made their way single file down a rocky ridge crest, along terrain so steep that sliding was sometimes easier than walking.

They hadn’t traveled a quarter mile before the silence was shattered. It was an ambush, so close that the cracks of the guns and the whizz of the bullets were simultaneous. Tracer fire hammered the ridge at hundreds of rounds per minute -- “more,” Sal said later, “than the stars in the sky.”

The Apache gunships above saw it all, but couldn’t engage with the enemy so close to our soldiers. The next platoon heard the shooting, but were too far away to join the fight in time.

And the two lead men were hit by enemy fire and knocked down instantly. When the third was struck in the helmet and fell to the ground, Sal charged headlong into the wall of bullets to pull him to safety behind what little cover there was. As he did, Sal was hit twice -- one round slamming into his body armor, the other shattering a weapon slung across his back.

They were pinned down, and two wounded Americans still lay up ahead. So Sal and his comrades regrouped and counterattacked. They threw grenades, using the explosions as cover to run forward, shooting at the muzzle flashes still erupting from the trees. Then they did it again. And again. Throwing grenades, charging ahead. Finally, they reached one of their men. He’d been shot twice in the leg, but he had kept returning fire until his gun jammed.

As another soldier tended to his wounds, Sal sprinted ahead, at every step meeting relentless enemy fire with his own. He crested a hill alone, with no cover but the dust kicked up by the storm of bullets still biting into the ground. There, he saw a chilling sight: the silhouettes of two insurgents carrying the other wounded American away -- who happened to be one of Sal’s best friends. Sal never broke stride. He leapt forward. He took aim. He killed one of the insurgents and wounded the other, who ran off.

Sal found his friend alive, but badly wounded. Sal had saved him from the enemy -- now he had to try to save his life. Even as bullets impacted all around him, Sal grabbed his friend by the vest and dragged him to cover. For nearly half an hour, Sal worked to stop the bleeding and help his friend breathe until the MEDEVAC arrived to lift the wounded from the ridge. American gunships worked to clear the enemy from the hills. And with the battle over, First Platoon picked up their gear and resumed their march through the valley. They continued their mission.

It had been as intense and violent a firefight as any soldier will experience. By the time it was finished, every member of First Platoon had shrapnel or a bullet hole in their gear. Five were wounded. And two gave their lives: Sal’s friend, Sergeant Joshua C. Brennan, and the platoon medic, Specialist Hugo V. Mendoza.

Now, the parents of Joshua and Hugo are here today. And I know that there are no words that, even three years later, can ease the ache in your hearts or repay the debt that America owes to you. But on behalf of a grateful nation, let me express profound thanks to your sons’ service and their sacrifice. And could the parents of Joshua and Hugo please stand briefly? (Applause.)

Now, I already mentioned I like this guy, Sal. And as I found out myself when I first spoke with him on the phone and when we met in the Oval Office today, he is a low-key guy, a humble guy, and he doesn’t seek the limelight. And he’ll tell you that he didn’t do anything special; that he was just doing his job; that any of his brothers in the unit would do the same thing. In fact, he just lived up to what his team leader instructed him to do years before: “You do everything you can.”

Staff Sergeant Giunta, repeatedly and without hesitation, you charged forward through extreme enemy fire, embodying the warrior ethos that says, “I will never leave a fallen comrade.” Your actions disrupted a devastating ambush before it could claim more lives. Your courage prevented the capture of an American soldier and brought that soldier back to his family. You may believe that you don’t deserve this honor, but it was your fellow soldiers who recommended you for it. In fact, your commander specifically said in his recommendation that you lived up to the standards of the most decorated American soldier of World War II, Audie Murphy, who famously repelled an overwhelming enemy attack by himself for one simple reason: “They were killing my friends.”

That’s why Salvatore Giunta risked his life for his fellow soldiers -- because they would risk their lives for him. That’s what fueled his bravery -- not just the urgent impulse to have their backs, but the absolute confidence that they had his. One of them, Sal has said -- of these young men that he was with, he said, “They are just as much of me as I am.” They are just as much of me as I am.

So I would ask Sal’s team, all of Battle Company who were with him that day, to please stand and be recognized as well. (Applause.) Gentlemen, thank you for your service. We’re all in your debt. And I’m proud to be your Commander-in-Chief.

These are the soldiers of our Armed Forces. Highly trained. Battle-hardened. Each with specialized roles and responsibilities, but all with one thing in common -- they volunteered. In an era when it’s never been more tempting to chase personal ambition or narrow self-interest, they chose the opposite. They felt a tug; they answered a call; they said, “I’ll go.” And for the better part of a decade, they have endured tour after tour in distant and difficult places; they have protected us from danger; they have given others the opportunity to earn a better and more secure life.

They are the courageous men and women serving in Afghanistan even as we speak. They keep clear focus on their mission: to deny safe haven for terrorists who would attack our country, to break the back of the Taliban insurgency, to build the Afghans’ capacity to defend themselves.

They possess the steely resolve to see their mission through. They are made of the same strong stuff as the troops in this room, and I am absolutely confident that they will continue to succeed in the missions that we give them, in Afghanistan and beyond.

After all, our brave servicemen and women and their families have done everything they’ve been asked to do. They have been everything that we have asked them to be. “If I am a hero,” Sal has said, “then every man who stands around me, every woman in the military, every person who defends this country is.” And he’s right.

This medal today is a testament to his uncommon valor, but also to the parents and the community that raised him; the military that trained him; and all the men and women who served by his side.

All of them deserve our enduring thanks and gratitude. They represent a small fraction of the American population, but they and the families who await their safe return carry far more than their fair share of our burden. They fight halfway around the globe, but they do it in hopes that our children and our grandchildren won’t have to.

They are the very best part of us. They are our friends, our family, our neighbors, our classmates, our coworkers. They are why our banner still waves, our founding principles still shine, and our country -- the United States of America -- still stands as a force for good all over the world. So, please join me in welcoming Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta for the reading of the citation.

MILITARY AIDE: The President of the United States of America, authorized by act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded, in the name of Congress, the Medal of Honor to then Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta, United States Army.

Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity, at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, in action, with an armed enemy in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, on October 25, 2007.

While conducting a patrol as team leader, with Company B, 2d Battalion Airborne, 503d Infantry Regiment, Specialist Giunta and his team were navigating through harsh terrain when they were ambushed by a well-armed and well-coordinated insurgent force.

While under heavy enemy fire, Specialist Giunta immediately sprinted towards cover and engaged the enemy. Seeing that his squad leader had fallen, and believing that he had been injured, Specialist Giunta exposed himself to withering enemy fire and raced towards his squad leader, helped him to cover and administered medical aid.

While administering first aid, enemy fire struck Special Giunta’s body armor and his secondary weapon. Without regard to the ongoing fire, Specialist Giunta engaged the enemy before prepping and throwing grenades, using the explosions for cover in order to conceal his position.

Attempting to reach additional wounded fellow soldiers who were separated from the squad, Specialist Giunta and his team encountered a barrage of enemy fire that forced them to the ground. The team continued forward, and upon reaching the wounded soldiers, Specialist Giunta realized that another soldier was still separated from the element. Specialist Giunta then advanced forward on his own initiative.

As he crested the top of a hill, he observed two insurgents carrying away an American soldier. He immediately engaged the enemy, killing one and wounding the other. Upon reaching the wounded soldier, he began to provide medical aid, as his squad caught up and provided security.

Specialist Giunta’s unwavering courage, selflessness and decisive leadership while under extreme enemy fire were integral to his platoon’s ability to defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American soldier from the enemy.

Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Company B, 2d Battalion Airborne, 503d Infantry Regiment and the United States Army. [The medal is awarded.] (Applause.)

Posted by Jeff Emanuel
Tuesday, November 16th

I’ve been afraid for some time now that none of us would ever again witness the Medal of Honor being awarded to a soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine who survived the actions which earned him or her our nation’s highest military honor. This is not, of course, due to a dearth of courage, valor, or heroism in those who wear our country’s uniform today.

Posthumous recipients of the Medal like Ross McGinnis, Michael Mansour, Michael Murphy, Paul Smith, Jason Dunham, Randy Shughart, Gary Gordon, and their fellows were more than deserving of this honor, as, in my opinion, were others who did not receive the Medal of Honor for actions which likely should have earned it. This could include such heroes as Jason Cunningham, Eric Moser, and Chris Corriveau.

Not since Commander William McGonagle of the USS Liberty received the Medal of Honor forty years ago has this honor been awarded in any other manner than posthumously…until now. Please join me in saluting Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, Medal of Honor recipient, American soldier, and true hero.

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CBS Anchor Katie Couric Manipulates Murkowski to Maul Sarah Palin

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Katie Couric, CBS News anchor and self appointed leader of the Sarah Palin attack pack, has renewed her three year long mission to rid the world of the threat of Sarah Palin as president. Her latest attempt to poison the public perception of Palin was on her news show last night.

She had the current Senator, Lisa Murkowski, write in leader in the Alaska Senate race, as a guest. It did not take Katie long to turn the attention of Murkowski to fellow Alaskan Palin and her qualifications to be president. Since Palin backed the Tea Party candidate who upset Murkowski in the primary, there was no love lost between them.

Couric urged Murkowski to unload on Palin and she did, saying some pretty critical statements as if she and Palin had known each other quite well for a long time. Which of course they did, at least know each other.

First, Senator Murkowski told the Associated Press on Friday that she wouldn’t watch former Governor Sarah Palin’s reality-television show about the state of Alaska.

Then Monday night, she added that she also doesn’t think Ms. Palin would make a good president.

“I just do not think that she has those leadership qualities, that intellectual curiosity that allows for building good and great policies,” she told Katie Couric on CBS News. “You know, she was my governor for two years. And I don’t think that she enjoyed governing.”

In the CBS interview, Ms. Murkowski said “we really don’t have much of a relationship.” She added that Ms. Palin “is not really that keyed into the state anymore. She is looking, obviously at a bigger pond.”

The Alaska senator added that she prefers a candidate who "goes to bed at night and wakes up in the morning thinking about how we're going to deal with" important issues.

Couric: "What's up with your relationship with Sarah Palin? Can you explain it?"

Murkowski: I'm still her senator. I'm going work hard to represent her, too. We don't really have much of a relationship."

Couric: "You have said you would not support Sarah Palin for president because she is not worldly enough."

Murkowski: "I just do not think that she has those leadership qualities, that intellectual curiosity that allows for building good and great policies. You know, she was my governor for two years. And I don't think that she enjoyed governing."

No matter what Palin does, Murkowski says 2012 is still a long way off and she's certain of one name that won't be on the ballot.

But didn't Katie forget to mention that Lisa Murkowski holds the Senate seat given to her in 2002 by her own father when he became governor amid cries of nepotism from the public? And didn't her father, Governor Frank Murkowski, purchase a $2.7 million jet airplane for the exclusive use of the governor, himself, in 2005? Wasn't it the same jet he took on a $13,000 Asian trip after he lost the primary election just before he had to leave office?

It was that jet and other allegations of corruption that convinced a young mayor from Wasilla, Alaska, a certain Sarah Palin, to challenge the mighty Governor Murkowski in the 2006 Republican primary where he finished dead last to Palin and one other challenger. After Murkowski spent 22 years in the Senate and 4 years as governor, Sarah Palin had brought his career in public service to a crashing end.

With Palin governor the state prosecuted Frank's former chief of staff convicting him of felony fraud in arranging corporate bribes for Murkowski's re-election campaign. Is it any surprise Sarah Palin opposed the daughter of the Governor she beat and endorsed a Tea Party candidate who won the primary/? Then again, Katie forgot to mention that there was a lot of bad blood between Murkowski and Palin ever since Palin drove her dad out of office.

Why would CBS bother with the facts or let us know the background behind the hostility Murkowski exhibited when asked about Sarah Palin by Katie Couric? It should be the truth and the public who decide if Sarah Palin is to serve us in any capacity, not Couric and the left leaning media.

For three years people like her have presented a one sided view of Palin, seeking out any rumor or fiction and putting it under the media spotlight in hopes it might make her look bad to the public. The Lisa Murkowski interview is just the latest example of CBS reporting along with such stellar masterpieces in investigative journalism like exclusive bombshell revelations about the Palins from none other than Levi Johnston, resident Alaska goof ball.

Let the people decide if Sarah Palin is qualified to be president with their votes, it is the American way. Just like it is Sarah Palins right to run for president should she so choose in our system of democracy. The media should stick to reporting the news, and stop trying to manufacture the news. That is the American way as well.
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Crime Pays in Congress as Rangel Uses Democrats in Cover Up

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Leave it to Charles Rangel to use his long relationship with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and his well rehearsed theatrics to make a mockery of the Pelosi ethics crackdown on her fellow Congressmen. Once Pelosi's chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means tax writing committee, Rangel virtually assured his continued place in the House at taxpayer expense after fleecing the American taxpayer of hundreds of thousands in tax liability, an euphemism for being a tax cheat, on 13 counts.

To help protect the tax cheater, the chief Democratic counsel prosecuting Rangel actually pre-empted the entire ethics proceeding by proclaiming that Rangel was not corrupt and did not personally benefit from ignoring IRS audits claiming he cheated on his taxes on low cost apartments in NYC and a vacation villa in the Caribbean. Since when do prosecutors pronounce the person they are prosecuting not guilty before the Judges have even heard the evidence?

Now how many Americans could do that and walk away with a $200,000 salary and a gold mine of a pension? If ever there was proof for the travesty our national government has become the Charles Rangel and Nancy Pelosi affair is it.

The theatrics were great as Rangel, poor Rangel, pleaded he was being denied the right to counsel and denied the right to raise a defense fund. He didn't mention he has known about the charges for years and was formally charged last summer. He claimed he already paid $2 million to lawyers and did not have another $1 million they demanded.

Of course his law firm, ex-law firm, denied they refused to help him. Rangel then walked out of the hearing and refused to be a part of the House rules he seems to have ignored during his 50 years of government service.

The joke ws already clear when they scheduled his trial just days after the election.  Why let a guilty man win a seat in Congress before trial?  It makes it that much harder to get rid of him.  If he did nothing wrong then why did it already cost him $2 million in legal fees? Why will it cost $1 million more. Surely Nancy Pelosi is not going to force her committee chairmen to spend millions to defend themselves if they are innocent.

This is the joke congress has become!

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