How much "cybersecurity" will we achieve?

When the Obama administration came into office, some of its best and brightest thinkers started looking at the issue of security on the world wide web, or "cybersecurity." The thinking was undoubtedly spurred when the White House computers went down for a day as staffers were moving in. More and more reports of breaches to private and government computers, fears about Russia, China's efforts to break into U.S. computers and other issues related to terrorism and the internet persisted.

Cybersecurity was an issue that had been discussed by the previous administration, but nothing was ever done about it, possibly because it has been hard to determine who should be in charge of the overall program. The Director of National Intelligence, retired Admiral Dennis Blair, proposed at this confirmation hearing that the NSA should run it. Rod Beckstrom, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who resigned his post as the director of America's National Cyber Security Center in March, claiming that a lack of support was preventing him from doing the job. But the firestorm of protest that went on for weeks eventually calmed when the headline from Wired Threat Level (4/21/09), "NSA Chief: ‘We Do Not Want to Run Cyber Security’," appeared. To quote:

NSA Director Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, speaking at the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco, told the audience of security professionals on Tuesday that the NSA does "not want to run cyber security for the United States government."

Aiming to dispel news reports — and counter previous intelligence agency statements — that the National Security Agency is angling to grab the top spot in the government’s cyber security initiative, Alexander said it’s a job that’s bigger than one agency and that the NSA isn’t looking to control but rather to partner with DHS, other defense departments, industry and law enforcement.

President Obama asked for a report in 60 days on the extent of the threats and put former Bush administration adviser, Melissa Hathaway in charge of it the study. Hathaway wrote about it on the White House blog on 5/29. Both Hathaway and Beckstrom could be in contention for the czar position, according to The Guardian. But according to the AP,

As many as a half dozen candidates — from the public and private sector — are being considered for the job, according to officials familiar with the discussions.

Obama's announcement comes as the Pentagon is poised to create a new cyber command to improve protection of military networks and coordinate its offensive and defensive cyber missions.

President Obama presented a briefing Friday, as the White House released a report on a 60-day review of the nation’s cybersecurity efforts (.pdf). The report was conducted by acting White House cybersecurity chief Melissa Hathaway, who is considered a front runner for the permanent czar job, according to Wired Threat Level. After months of rumors, Obama confirmed that the White House will be creating a new office to be led by a cybersecurity czar. The story's headline, "Obama Says New Cyberczar Won’t Spy on the Net," is from (5/29/09). To quote:

. . . The office will be in charge of coordinating efforts to secure government networks and U.S. critical infrastructures. . . Obama was quick to add that the new White House cybersecurity office would include an official whose job is to ensure that the government’s cyber policies don’t violate privacy and civil liberties of Americans. He also reaffirmed his support for the principle of net neutrality.

“Our pursuit of cybersecurity will not include — I repeat, will not include — monitoring private sector networks or internet traffic,” he said. “We will preserve and protect the personal privacy and civil liberties that we cherish as Americans. Indeed, I remain firmly committed to net neutrality so we can keep the internet as it should be, open and free.”

. . . in his address on Friday, Obama said the new cybercoordinator will have “my full support and regular access to me as we confront these challenges.”

. . .“From now on our digital infrastructure, the networks and computers we depend on every day, will be treated as they should be — as a strategic national asset,” Obama said. “Protecting this infrastructure will be a national security priority. We will ensure that these networks are secure, trustworthy and resilient. We will deter, prevent, detect and defend against attacks and recover quickly from any disruptions or damage.”

The story of the report is also in Wired Threat Level (5/29/09):"Obama Cybersecurity Report Addresses Critical Infrastructure and Privacy Issues." The article includes a good set of highlights from the recommendations. To quote:

A cybersecurity report . . . touches on everything from establishing communication networks for emergency response teams to the role government should play in the protection of critical infrastructure networks and whether or not entities that experience a breach should have to notify governments and law enforcement agencies. Privacy and civil liberties concerns receive a repeated nod, with privacy being mentioned in the report more than five dozen times.

The 76-page report (.pdf) was released in conjunction with a White House announcement that the president will be creating a new cybersecurity office and czar, as well as a privacy and civil liberties official to oversee the government’s cybersecurity plans.

How much cybersecurity will result from all of this is not yet known. But it certainly seems like a good start. Hathaway, if she is named the czar, had a very good reputation. Both she and President Obama seem cognizant of the concerns about privacy raised by civil libertarians. That concern has been dampened now that the office will be in the White House and not the NSA. And it is "down one rung" on the White House authority ladder (under both the National Security and Economic Security councils) because both private and government internet needs must be protected. And it seems clear that the czar will have adequate direct access to the President, who will probably get to settle any remaining turf battles. Much remains to be seen as the military arm of cybersecurity is more fully revealed. And finally, President Obama has reaffirmed his support for net neutrality.

My new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics cybersecurity national security obama administration

Lots of happy faces ... on the ground and in space.

The International Space Station now has its six-person crew on board. The hatches opened about 9:15 CT, the new crew members floated in and everyone moved to the Russian Service Module for a welcoming ceremony and conversations with dignitaries on the ground at Koralev, Russia. All five international partners are now represented by a resident on the ISS -- Russia (2): Commander Gennady Padalka and Mission Specialists, Roman Romanenko; United States: Michael Barratt; Canada: Robert Thirsk; ESA (European Space Agency) Frank De Winne; and Jaxa (Japanese Space Agency) Koichi Wakata.

Prior to opening the hatches there was a news conference at the Russian space headquarters in Koralev. All partner countries had representatives who made statements and answered reporters' questions. A bit of news came out. News persons were curious to find out the identity of the New head of NASA. They were also curious about the future of the Russian space program's future, given their country's financial crisis. The identity of the next Soyuz space participant will be announced in early June. And the formal agreement as to how to extend the partnership future of the ISS is still under discussion. One of the items to be determined is the projected life of the Canada robotic arms.

More international news: "ESA enroute to the origins of the Universe with successful launch of Planck and Herschel" from Space and Astronautics News (5/15/09).

My brand new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: NASA ISS russia

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• Crew doubles aboard space station (news.bbc.co.uk)
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• Canadian astronaut Thirsk starts 6-month mission in space (cbc.ca)
• Rocket Blasts Off to Double Space Station Crew (space.com)
• European prepares to command ISS (news.bbc.co.uk)
• 05/28/09: NASA Extends Contract with Russian Federal Space Agency. (space.gs)
• Russia 'to save its ISS modules' (news.bbc.co.uk)
• First European to command ISS lifts off from Baikonur (guardian.co.uk)

Middle East - this and that

Meeting on Middle East Peace Process -- Mahmoud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen and President Obama are meeting Thursday in Washington. Palestinians were skeptical ahead of the meeting, according to EarthTimes. To quote:

Palestinians expressed doubt Wednesday that the visit to Washington of their president, Mahmoud Abbas, and his meeting with US President Barack Obama on Thursday will result in pressure on Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories. According to columnist Omar Ghoul, writing in the pro-Abbas al-Hayat al-Jadida daily, Abbas' problem with the Obama administration is that the latter is "going along with Israeli stalling policy" and has a "cautious approach to Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people."

After a rather frosty meeting recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defiantly announced that the settlement activity in the West Bank and Jerusalem would continue, despite U.S. calls for a halt to all settlement activity. Jordan's King Abdullah is deeply involved as a kind of honest broker, mediator. And, of course, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is still acting as a Middle East peace envoy. The question, "Will Israel Attack Iran?" remains open, according to Mother Jones Magazine.

Will it always be war? Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com recently posted with passion about the idea of Obama as a war president. He asks,

Which American presidents were not "war presidents?" . . . In other words, there's no such thing as an American President who is not a "war President." We never go more than a few years without some kind of a direct war, and are always waging covert and indirect ones. American presidents are inherently "war presidents." We don't really have any other kind. To vest a specific power in a President on the ground that he's a "War President" is to vest that power in presidents generally and permanently.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates revealed the proposed Pentagon budget in mid April, according to Mother Jones Magazine, suggesting changes that are very significant. To quote:

GWOT, RIP . . . Seen one way, it's certainly the first significant recognition from the Pentagon that the United States, the former "sole superpower" and planetary sheriff, has actually entered a universe of limits, even when it comes to the previous sacrosanct and ever soaring military budget. Think of it as a signal directly from Washington—if you want one—that the glory days are on the wane.

This and that -- By mid-May, 44 candidates had registered for the Afghan presidential elections, according to RIA Novosti. Pakistan has a relatively new president and the government remains relatively weak. U.S. News had an interesting piece about why the Pentagon needs to rebuild its relationship with Pakistan's military, in order to win the Afghan war. This same publication covered Obama's military veterans health care upgrade, announced last month. Investigative journalism's ProPublica recently revealed that insurance giant, AIG may have been making unreasonable profits by denying nearly half of medical benefits due to civilian contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. The DoD Inspector General's office will be investigating.

In conclusion -- President Obama is much more proactive when it comes to foreign and defense policy. And He as a very good team around him. He certainly needs all the help he can get given the current dicey situation in the Middle East.

References:

1. From NPR, anexcellent in depth article, Middle East Peace Initiative, it began with the subject Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.


2. From The Washington Note's Steve Clemons: "Powerpoint on Strengths, Weakness of Obama/Gates Defense Plan."


3. From Spy Talk's Jeff Stein: "Obama's Kennedy Moment in Afghanistan" This is a great backgrounder on the perils of fighting a war in Afghanistan.


4. From Secrecy News' Steven Aftergood: “Tactics in Counterinsurgency” Again Online. About a new Army Field Manual

My all-in-one Home Page of websites where I post regularly: Carol Gee - Online Universe

Female justice

President Barack Obama, according to The Washington Post, made the "riskiest choice on his list who embodies his criteria." Deciding the night before he announced is pick, he chose Judge Sonia Sotomayor from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York, to be his first nominee to the SCOTUS. In my opinion he made a magnificent nomination who will be confirmed within the reasonable time line he has proposed to the Senate. And many Republicans have already set a predictable howl about the possibility of Judge Sotomayor replacing Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court.

GOP knee-jerk reactions -- David Corn wonders if Sonia Sotomayor will split the right by musing, "With his new Supreme Court pick, Obama gives GOPers a choice: Tick off social conservatives or alienate Hispanic voters." Corn's post quotes, among other right wing sources, Wendy Long, of the "Judicial Confirmation Network, a conservative outfit." Long has been all over the tube in recent hours spouting her hateful rhetoric about the President's nominee. At Firedoglake bloggers took a look at Republicans such as Orin Hatch, already spoiling for a fight about this, even though he has already voted to confirm her to two previous judicial appointments. Eli ventured. . .

a verbatim transcript of the GOP's deliberations on whether or not to aggressively attack Sotomayor and risk (further) alienating Hispanics and women:

letusthinkaboutitforasecondyes.

Empathy misunderstood by some -- Another of our favorite Republican reactionaries, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), worries that Sotomayor may allow'undue influence from her own personal race, gender,' " Think Progress reports. Rush Limbaugh, naturally, wants her to fail. John Yoo snarkily writes that "empathy triumphs over excellence." Other Republicans have mistakenly pointed to how many times Sotomayor has been reversed by the Supreme Court conservative wing. But not all Conservatives/Republicans have lost their heads.

Maintaining perspective -- But conservative Andrew Sullivan questioned Tom Tancredo's description of Sotomayor as "a racist." And conservative writer Mark Halperin of Time Magazine, states unequivocally that Sotomayor will have "smooth sailing," and is "headed to easy confirmation." Daily Kos' David Waldman posts about what the Senate vote might look like. My perspective at this exciting time is that Sonia Sotomayor is the best qualified person by experience the President could choose, and perhaps even the best pick to rebalance the this group of too many white male Supreme Court justices. And the Republicans will not defeat her, no matter what they say or what they try.

Authors note: South by Southwest, my regular political blog is temporarily down. So I will be doing my political posting here until S/SW is back online. Check out my toher blog, too; it's called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics sotomayor SCOTUS obama

New Head of NASA

The Hubble Space Telescope repair mission was a roaring success. It took five long space walks, some occasional muscle, the patience of Job, and a deft robot arm operator to do it. Because of a highly trained and skillful set of astronauts, a set of "whiz bang" new instruments, batteries, etc., Hubble will now have several more years of service in its scientific life as a space observatory It now has a whole new lease on life, refurbished and updated.

It was a risky mission because the shuttle Atlantis was on its own without the potential support of the International Space Station. For the first time in the space program, however, NASA was prepared to send a rescue shuttle if it became necessary. But the shuttle remained in fine shape for a return trip through earth's atmosphere. Atlantis and its seven person crew were not able to land in Florida for a couple of days because of bad weather. So Atlantis ended the Hubble trip with a California landing, which we learned about from the LA Times (5/25/09). And in a report yesterday from Reuters, we also learned that NASA will finally get a new administrator to replace Mike Griffin. To quote from the article:

President Barack Obama will name former space shuttle commander Charles Bolden to lead NASA, the White House said on Saturday, in the midst of a major shift in the U.S. human space program.

Bolden, 62, a retired Marine general, flew on four shuttle missions before leaving the U.S. space agency in 1994 to return to the military.

Bolden, who would become the 12th administrator in NASA's 51-year history and its first black head, is seen as a strong advocate for human space flight. . .

Obama also intends to name Lori Garver, a space consultant who oversaw space-related issues for his transition team, as NASA's deputy administrator, the White House said.

"These talented individuals will help put NASA on course to boldly push the boundaries of science, aeronautics and exploration in the 21st century and ensure the long-term vibrancy of America's space program," Obama said in a statement.

The nomination has been a long time in coming. But Bolden has good support in the Senate, including Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, who was also an astronaut, so he will probably be easily confirmed. They have flown together in space. And in a final irony, Charles Bolden was the pilot of the mission that originally launched the Hubble Space Telescope into space well over a decade ago. It seems like a good omen.

See these references to previous stories about this appointment.

1. "Obama meets with candidate for NASA job," from MSNBC (5/19/09)
2. Former astronaut likely to be new NASA chief," from MSNBC (5/15/09)
3. "Ex-astronaut emerges as NASA prospect," from MSNBC (1/6/09)

My new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics space program NASA

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day, a federal holiday for government offices and local schools. Locally, rain is expected. Lots of local cemeteries have planned formal ceremonies to honor those killed in the line of military duty. Nationally, fatal car crashes mar the memorial Day weekend, all according to the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
The Texas experience of Memorial Day focuses on honoring the military and reflects the norm of marking this holiday nationwide, and it has been my adult experience. As I was growing up in Wyoming, however, our experience of Memorial Day had an additional meaning. It was popularly known as "Decoration Day," the day everybody went to the cemeteries where relatives were buried. We cleaned and cleared the grave sites and decorated the graves of our loved ones with fresh homegrown plants or flowers. Since our family had driven to town from the country for the holiday, we brought along a picnic dinner to eat in the city park. My maternal grandparents were interred in one nearby town, my paternal grandparents another. It varied from year to year in which town we visited.
Last year I posted here at Making Good Mondays about Memorial Day, in the context of going home every summer. Today is very bittersweet for me because my 93 year old mother passed away in December. We will be again be traveling to Wyoming this summer, but we will not be visiting the cemetery where Mom's ashes will be buried until later.
So today I celebrate my mom's good life from afar, with this little tribute to "Decoration Day." She taught me about the importance of paying attention to heritage as we visited the graves of her parents and paid our respects. Now my mom and dad's grave site is just a few feet away from the graves of my maternal grandparents. I find that thought fitting and comforting, somehow, as I await our trip.

My brand new blog is called "Behind the Links."
Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.
Technorati tags: memorial day holidays family traditions texas wyoming cemetaries

Blogger woes

Here's my sad tale of cyber-insecurity --

In the past few days Google discovered a bit of malware code that someone placed in my South by Southwest website without my permission. They have blocked my site, and in a related matter, suspended my Twitter account. I removed what code I could be sure was a problem. I will have a "geek" with more skills come Tuesday to do the thorough code cleaning and clearing the site needs, fix the registry and reinstate my virus protections. What the blogosphere reports in similar situations, however, is that it can take a long time for Google to act. Even after the site has been cleaned, I am just one in what must be a long line of Blogger writers with blocks on their sites. I do not yet feel defeated by this, but I do feel "in over my head." Thank God for my Geek service availability.

So where does that leave this "little blogger?" Making Good Mondays is perfectly fine. And the websites where I regularly post are also totally available for me to utilize. They include The Sirens Chronicles (with a featured post on Tuesdays); The Reaction (where I am assistant editor and write the "Reaction Reviews"); and TPM Cafe (where I am part of that blogging community). So I will not disappear, except temporarily from South by Southwest, my home blog since March of 2005.

The effect of all this will be that I will do a bit better at answering e-mail, I will be more creative, and I will rely on my little blogging communities for sustenance and support. So enough of "woe is me." I am blessed to have almost everything I need, and hope for solutions.

To those of you who are observing Memorial Day tomorrow, have a fine day. Today I will be watching NASA TV as the Atlantis crew lands -- sometime soon I hope. Godspeed to them.

My new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: cyber-security blogging-news personal blogging writing

Coming to the blank page

Image: Wordle.net

Coming upon a blank page for a writer is either a challenge or an opportunity. These days, at least for me, it presents more challenge than opportunity. The challenges are:

• I ask myself whether I have anything to say to the world today.
• I do not have a good sense of whom is my audience.
• Do I have too much to say, based on taking in too much information.
• I wonder whether I want to join the current buzz or change the subject.
• I sometimes feel as if I am repeating myself.
  
• Am I tired, or fresh enough to think well and avoid errors.
• What if I feel uninspired, dull or worried about boring my readers
  
• Writing is both objective and subjective. Which voice for this?
• Will I write about thoughts or feelings?
• Do I feel funny or serious?

Now to look for the opportunities. Are they possibly the other sides of the challenge coins?

• I often have things to say that are well-received.
• Site Meter can provide much info about who reads and why.
• Less time spent and easier work involves cutting back on news resources.
• Opportunity for better work means cutting out unproductive scanning and reading prep.
• The first efforts of the day could be spent on the most important platform.
• Inspiration always comes serendipitously. Writers cannot mandate it for themselves.
• Honesty and being authentic makes for freshness of ideas and perspective.
• Choosing the best voice means making a good match with the subject and with my mood.
• Writing about something about which I care pays off for me and for my readers.
• The opportunity remains to achieve great satisfaction from creativity.

My brand new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: writing reading creativity blogging

Hubble updating history

Today's post is a collection of miscellaneous links from Making Good Mondays that have one thing in common, the Hubble Space Telescope, or HST. The image for this post is one of the top ten Hubble image favorites.

After cautious anticipation by NASA, the Hubble servicing mission in 2008 was canceled. In effect Hubble's bubble broke, because a major piece of HST equipment went out just before the NASA repair mission was to commence. Such an event is understandable because Hubble just had its 19th birthday.

The mission is now actually underway, with the first of five spacewalks to repair and refurbish Hubble to begin shortly. The entire population of "space nuts" like me will be glued to the NASA TV channel. Space related Twitter tweets and Hubble hopes will be at a high level. We are excited because of the possibility of many more years of science coming from the work of the HST repair crew now in orbit.

Astro_Mike, Mission Specialist Mike Massimino, just sent down a Twitter message from orbit this morning "From orbit: Rendezvous and grapple were great, getting ready for our first spacewalk set." It was enough to set off a Kindle buzz and Twitter "terrifics!" He will be one the inside astronauts choreographing today's space walk, and he will be one of the outside actual space walkers tomorrow. The crew of Endeavor is standing by to effect a rescue in the unlikely event that Atlantis could not come back to earth.

You will be amazed by the eye candy for Endeavour and the various other visual links available if you follow some of these links, see Space and savor the images, for example, or if you check out the post with "The bestest list," as well as learn who's reading and why.

NASA and Congress are not yet in sync because of other priorities. President Obama has not appointed a new NASA administrator, again because of higher priorities. But from all I can tell the acting administrator is doing fine and the mission is doing fine. I look forward to several days of "space nut" fun.

Godspeed to the crew.

My brand new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: news space hubble nasa

Miscellaneous Links - You will be amazed!

Image via Wikipedia

"Hubble Photographs Giant Eye in Space#," from Yahoo! News (5/11/09). Summary: These pictures are breathtaking. Also they filmed the launch with IMAX cameras.

"Dr. Pepper artifact may reveal soft drink's origin#*," from Yahoo! News (5/4/09). Jon marvels, "What a find!" And Betmo also sent me this link. They obviously know my love for the soft drink I discovered in a little Texas town around 1950.

"Introducing the Orion Project by Steven M. Greer M.D.*," From Dandelion Salad (4.18.08). Summarized: "A non-profit foundation created to transform the current energy, environmental and social crisis into a world of sustainability and enlightened abundance."

"Margaret and Helen*" (5/5/09). Betmo said "You might like this blog." And I do, very much. I have been following it for several months.

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• Who will buy the Dr Pepper old ledger book filled with formulas? (hubdub.com)

Twitter tweets and Hubble hopes --

Image via Wikipedia

This will be the last service mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. An experienced crew had their first planned launch date in October of 2008 scrubbed. One half of the telescope's redundant capacity went down. Now they are headed to the telescope with a spare and a plan. The crew will snag the Hubble to do a number of significant repair and upgrade operations (5 space walks), while they have the instrument in the payload bay of Atlantis.

This mission is a bit riskier than normal for a couple of reasons. The Atlantis orbit is much higher than the ISS orbit, and it holds a good deal more space debris than the lower altitudes. And Atlantis is on its own in space without the support of the International Space Station nearby. Therefore NASA has another shuttle at the ready to launch in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is needed.

Astro Mike tweets. He is actually Mission Specialist Mike Massimino of the Hubble STS-120 mission crew. I think the whole thing is very close to magic.

Some of my favorite tweets* about the space program --

"I will be able to twitter from space if I have time. I will email tweets to NASA who'll fwd them. No promises but I will try my best^," from AstroMike (5/1/09).

"STS-119 Meets with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office! See Photos at: http://tinyurl.com/dyu9rn^," from NASA (5/1/09).

"My launch minus 10 days physical exam with our doctors - making sure I am healthy for space, so far so good^," from Astro Mike Massimino (5/1/09).

"In honor of Earth Day, take a look at these amazing shots of Earth^," from Today Show, courtesy of NASA. (4/22/09).

"Hubble: evidence that galaxies are embedded in halos of dark matter: The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope^," from Astronautics (3/12/09).


*Hat Tip to Twitter for all the great tweets, marked with [^].

Cross-posted at my brand new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: NASA space news hubble

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• Hubble Upgrades Will Give Space Telescope Cosmic Super Vision [Space] (gizmodo.com)
• Nasa space shuttle Atlantis blasts off to service Hubble telescope (telegraph.co.uk)
• Across the universe (guardian.co.uk)
• U.S. space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from Florida to fix Hubble telescope (network.nationalpost.com)
• Space Shuttle Launches to Save Hubble Telescope (space.com)
• Astronauts ready for rescue mission (cnn.com)

Kindle Buzz and Twitter

Image via CrunchBase

Ever since I heard about the Kindle a few months ago I have been excited about the electronic reader's possibilities for the troubled newspaper publishing business. Time Magazine's tweet asks "Will Amazon's Kindle rescue newspapers?" Here from the NYT-Twitter is a link to an interesting story about Amazon's release of a more expensive model of the Kindle reader, with a bigger screen. Students in an experiment will use it instead of text books. People can read their newspapers on the wireless reader, as well as the most popular application books, and now magazines.

Journalist John Dickerson in someone I follow on Twitter, because he regularly writes stuff like this: "At 40 I'm still hopeful that there will be a National Magazine Award for desk and bookshelf reorganization in avoidance of deadline." My kinda guy. I thought I was the only one who had discovered this procrastinator's trick.

The New York Times also twitters this fascinating little tidbit. They say that women are nearly a work-force majority. Can you believe it?

And speaking of work, Astronaut Mike Massimino, who Twitters as "Astro Mike," will soon be leaving on the shuttle with the crew headed for the big repair job to the Hubble telescope. His tweet, 11 hours ago said, "Just had breakfast with my crew, really bright lights are on in crew quarters when we wake up to help the shifting of our sleep cycles." An Astronautics link announced yesterday that the European-built Node 3 starts its journey to the International Space Station.

I close with a couple of updates from my favorite Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

• May 2, 9:30 AM: "Baucus and I to lunch w Obama WHouse Wed to discuss Health Care reform."
  
• May 6th at noon: "Just had a hamburger w obama at WH. Hour lunch discussing health care reform and four Ag/EPA issues"

Peace to all. . .

My brand new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: [tagname]

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• Hubble FAQ: Inside the Last Space Telescope Repair Mission - Space.com (space.com)
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• STS-119: NASA News Conference on February 20 to Discuss Discovery's Flight Readiness. (space.gs)
• Kindle's Big Screen (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)

What interests me:

A variety of topics have piqued my interest for much of my life. I am a curious soul and my regular contributors, Betmo and Jon are good about adding information into my consciousness via sending me links. Since I am a photographer and a political news junkie, Jon# sent me this from The Huffington Post "300 Photos From Obama's First 100 Days: Behind The Scenes." And here are some more links to interesting photographs that I really enjoyed. "In Pictures: Easter Worldwide," from the BBC News.

Native Americans -- First from the BBC News (4/12/09): "From Our Own Correspondent" at "Cultural balance." Summary: How native and modern America are working together. In a related story comes from The Washington Post (4/14/09): "Professor Picked for Indian Affairs," To quote:

A Native American who served as the attorney general of Idaho was nominated yesterday to become the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Betmo* forwarded this e-mail from Diane Laughlin, because she knows of my love of anthropology, as well as my upbringing on an Indian Reservation in Wyoming. To quote:

Study claims single ancestry for Native people.
April 29, 2009
Filed Under: Education

A study published in the May issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution claims all modern-day Native people descend from a single group. Researchers examined the DNA from 20 Native groups in the U.S., Canada, Greenland, Central America and South America. They found a common genetic marker in all of the populations. The genetic marker was not found in the DNA of 31 modern-day Asian groups, leading researchers to conclude that the ancestors of modern-day Native people lived in isolation before expanding to the Americas. The study estimates the most recent common ancestor lived somewhere between 7,325 and 39,900 years ago. The marker was found in two Native groups in Western Siberia, in Russia, that are closely linked to Alaska Natives. Get the Story:
Native Americans descended from a single ancestral group, DNA study confirms (Physorg.Com 4/29) Get the Study:
Haplotypic Background of a Private Allele at High Frequency in the Americas (Molecular Biology and Evolution 2009 26(5):995-1016; doi:10.1093/molbev/msp024)

NASA -- I have been a "space junkie" since the beginning with the Mercury program in the 1950s. The U.S. space program is run by NASA and partners with 11 other space agencies all over the world. Our first partner was Russia and they are still the most significant. I found this very interesting set of photographs at The BBC News - "In Pictures: Russian Space school." And from Reuters (4/15/09) comes this fun little story: "Colbert lost in space when NASA names station node," To quote:

NASA on Tuesday named its new living quarters on the International Space Station "Tranquillity," denying television comedian Stephen Colbert his attempt to get the new Node 3 named after himself.

In a more serious vein, this is an earlier piece from The Washington Post (4/7/09): "NASA Awaits Word on Where It Is Going Next." By Joel Achenbach. To summarize:

NASA has a space station, three space shuttles, two moon rockets under development, a fleet of robotic space probes, dozens of satellites, tens of thousands of employees and a budget that is creeping toward $20 billion a year. What it needs is a boss.

Crises of survival -- If the survival of NASA could now be in jeopardy, so are our nations newspapers, for several reasons including the power of the Internet. It is an issue of vital importance to the health of our nation's Fourth Estate. Related is this article from The New York Times (4/8/09): "Is Yahoo! a better Friend to Newspapers than Google?" Summary: "Some newspaper executives say Yahoo has done more than Google to help newspapers." Also, we are in the middle of an economic crisis of historic proportions. Betmo* sent me this related link because we both care deeply about the environment. Titled, "Introducing the Orion Project by Steven M. Greer M.D.*," it is from Dandelion Salad (4.18.08). Summarized: "A non-profit foundation created to transform the current energy, environmental and social crisis into a world of sustainability and enlightened abundance."

Naturally curious -- From StumbleUpon comes this fascination: "Rare all-female ant society that reproduces by cloning discovered." Also from Flikr via StumbleUpon comes this amazing photo of a little Pufferfish and of a wonderful happy child. As I am interested in the sciences, I was led into nurse's training after High School. I did not finish that course, but my interest in science is still keen. I remain curious about a variety of issues in biology, including this item from CQ-Politics: "Cloning heats up as next bioresearch fight" (4/27/09) To quote:

As the Obama administration prepares to greatly expand the government’s investments in embryonic stem cell research, the next big biomedical research debate in Congress is shaping up: whether to allow government funding of experiments using cloned human embryos.

In conclusion -- After I turned 50, I went back to school and earned a Masters Degree in Clinical Social Work, the practive of therapy. After learning more about relaxation and a bit about meditation, I have maintained an academic interest in Eastern religions. So this article caught my eye and shook up my therapist assumptions a bit. I recommend this piece from the New York Times (3/5/09) "Being and Mindfulness," by Judith Warner, a skeptic. To quote:

I have no doubt that this meta-connectedness feels real, and indeed is real, in the abstract at least. But in real-life encounters, I’ve come lately to wonder whether meaningful bonds are well forged by the extreme solipsism that mindfulness practice often turns out to be.

. . . For one thing, there’s the seemingly unavoidable problem that people who are embarked on this particular “journey of self-exploration,” as Pipher has called it, tend to want to talk, or write, about it. A lot. But what they don’t realize — because they’re so in the moment, caught in the wonder and fascination and totality of their self-experience — is that their stories are like dream sequences in movies, or college students’ journal entries, or the excited accounts your children bring you of absolutely hilarious moments in cartoons — you really do have to be the one who’s been there to tolerate it.

For the truth is, however admirable mindfulness may be, however much peace, grounding, stability and self-acceptance it can bring, as an experience to be shared, it’s stultifyingly boring.

. . . Some of us experience our emotions always in capital letters and exclamation points. This isn’t always pleasant but, to go all mindful for a moment, it is what it is, and if you are one of these people then probably one of the great pleasures of your life is finding others like you and settling in with them for a good rant. A world devoid of such souls can be cold and forbidding, and above all terribly, terribly dull.

Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are Betmo*, Dan'l+ and Jon#. Most of their links are published at my brand new blog is called "Behind the Links." Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: news science news NASA links

Imagery - Old - Continued

Image via Wikipedia

Many people are fascinated with history, including pre-history. Making Good Mondays is often about imagery. This post combines the two ideas. It is a continuation of an earlier one here at Making Good Mondays: "The First Photograph." I was inspired by an e-mail from my blog friend "Spadoman," who read the post about the first camera. Spadoman blogs at Round Circle. I commend his piece, "The Real Reason for the Crow Creek Ride," as background reading and to get acquainted with his very fine writing and good soul. Here are portions of his e-mails:

1) The first e-mail, with Spadoman's thoughts and ideas related to my (old photograph) post:

These drawings and pictures on cave walls and rocks are fascinating. I first saw them here in Minnesota. Up in the Boundary Waters Canoe area, a wilderness area that borders Canada, there are places where the drawings can be seen. It takes a lot of work to see them as you pretty much have to canoe to where they are and there are no short cuts. It is a day or two journey to get there from any embarkation point. There is also a place where painting are found on rocks that are not verticle, but rather horizontal on the flat in a place called Jeffers, MN. The Jeffers Petroglyphs: http://www.jefferspetroglyphs.com/

Last year at this time, I spent a week or so with the Havasupai people whose reservation is at the bottom of Grand Canyon. One man I met from down there took me on a ride down a road that runs from the main highway, old route 66, to the Colorado River. It is on reservation land. Along this road, he stopped here and there to show me some things. One of the places was a petroglyph site, undiscovered by tourists, hidden from view on a desolate semi-private road. Pristine viewing of an ancient artform.

Then again, rocks that are defaced by graffiti and initials of those in love, (JS loves BM), or gang signs painted on many types of surfaces might be the petroglyphs of the future. I wonder about this and how these types of things will be depicted by future anthropologists long after we're scattered to dust. The findings of us in the distant future is also a fascinating subject.

Man did leave marks all over. The voyageurs made gashes high up in the pine trees to be seen by navigators on the lake and portage system. The Nez Perce piled rocks along trails to tell the comings and goings of people and which direction they were traveling, these are still found along the Lolo trail from long before Lewis and Clark in Eastern Idaho's Bitterroot mountains. And of course, the trash this string of generations is leaving buried in the ground in landfills and generally just scattered on the sacred earth mother.

2) February 22, 2009. Subject: Petroglyphs. Spadoman added:

Feel free to use anything I sent you. Those canyon wall pictures at the Grand Canyon were magnificent. I was right up close to them. I didn't touch them. There are also some more modern ones at a place in South Dakota called the Horse sanctuary near Hot Springs, SD. http://www.gwtc.net/~iram/

The site doesn't talk about them, but a long time ago, people used the area down by the Cheyenne River for ceremony, (Sweat Lodge, Sundance) and left marks, circles, on the banks of the river and the sandy area along the river bottoms. On some cliffs, they did some carvings into the sandstone. You can see them if you take the tour at the sanctuary. Many amazing places on this Earth Mother.

References regarding petroglyphs - these famous ones were found in caves in France:

1. The Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc.
2. The Cave of Lascaux.
   

As human beings we seem to carry a psychological affinity to old images. Jung described it as the "collective unconscious." I am not sure whether it is also somehow connected to what we might call DNA memory. In any event we are connected to our forebearers from all over the world. We all descend from our common ancestors in Africa, whose traces are lost to history except in fossils. I would love to get a sense of what they did with their earliest impulses towards imagery.


My topical post today at South by Southwest and The Reaction is about politics.

My new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Technorati tags: imagery history blogosphere

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• The Journals of Lewis & Clark Online (janawillworkforbooks.blogspot.com)