Was at a conservative think tank in DC today. Coincidently, forum was on Taiwan's (Republic of China ROC), dealings with PRC (Mainland, Communist China). Lots of security stuff. One guy (who really know his s**t and had seen lots of Chinese goodies) resembled Gust Avrakotos in Charlie Wilson's war (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman). No one mentioned Japan and the manufacturing crash in high-value technical devices. So I emailed one guy who was on the panel a couple of questions afterward: "2. What effects in the next year can you see regarding the developing crisis in Japan. In Silicon Valley, manufacturers are encountering shortages in high-value tech products. Auto manufactures here are undergoing supply bottlenecks. And there is the station of Japan as an ally of the U.S. - and one who has confronted China on issues such as fishing in disputed Island locations. And how probable is it that China will jump in and replace the damaged Japanese suppliers and steal the markets?" his reply: "2. China is not yet in a position to produce many of the hi-tech components that Japan currently supplies to the market – Chinese firms only assemble already made hi-tech components. Taiwan is actually quite well positioned to take market share from Japanese firms. Many international firms will be reluctant to change designs and base production of their hi-tech components in the mainland because of the on-going problems of R&D theft and would much prefer to set up hi-tech production in countries like Taiwan. China would not be the first choice for many of these firms."" now for the ethically PC... I asked: "I mulled about something here so here goes. "Taiwan is actually quite well positioned to take market share from Japanese firms. " is, I think, wonderfully nuanced as an answer to my query on Japan's present travails. Is it, in your opinion, in the Taiwanese nature to do so (take market share from Japan at this time)? I am not asking you if you think they WILL do it, just if it is an option that is not out of the question for more than one Taiwanese high-tech manufacturing enterprise?" his reply: "I think the decision will be made as much by the international firm as the Taiwanese one. But if they need to produce a market ready product, then international firms will do what they have to do. " Obviously, many things are at work here...and Japan will be eating it for some time. Immediately, I mean YESTERDAY companies need to nail down safe, accessible, precision manufacturing capacity and facilities. Really, Taiwan is the only place that comes close to Japan. So I go to work on my blog of the forum and slashdot comes in - I couldn't make this up. No kid gloves allowed.

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live close in to DC - great transit - do not own a car (wife has an older toyota) and I just moved from California (Silicon Valley) sort of a mini-LA - there is no serious option for almost everyone there unless they are on welfare with endless time to twiddle - or a very few who manage to fit Bart or Caltrain or even a ferry in - so it is an eye-opener to see an entire region nonchalantly living entire lives around transit - yet this all depends on electrical power - where does THAT come from? much comes from massive coal burning plants - but have friends who have moved here from Cal as well and live 'way out past Dulles in sprawling developments crawling west and south devouring farms and woods - these guys b***h about the traffic all the time - the only thing that gives more of a nod to here is the fact that people here don't seem so fixated on ownership of pickups and suvs - so a tariff on miles traveled, if a way could be cobbled together to manage it, AND with incentives on vehicle mileage might do some good, if someone didn't burn down the program administration headquarters.

Go to Libya. Wake up. Amble over to market. Buy tube of Crest toothpaste and some grapes. Straggle back to hotel. Go to bathroom. Turn on hot water and pray (for hot water, cold water, brown water, anything at all). Brush teeth. Yeccchhh. Look at toothpaste. Surprise! It's "Crust", not Crest. N Africa is a world of knock-offs. Including hackers. RUMORED government Facebook attacks (unless Alg. hired like, http://www.narus.com/ as Egypt did) are rumors and normal N Africa glitches. *yawn*

OK. Pre June 28, team of photographers went to gulf. They presented their trip at TEDx Oil Spill conference in DC, along with other speakers. Afterwards chatted with Darron Collins (WWF, one of that team). He definitely confirmed that at beaches, anyway, BP asserted legal jurisdiction, had "blackwater" looking security guys hanging around - AND KEPT THEM 100 FEET AWAY FROM WATERS'S EDGE. Also, fishing boat captains who took up BP's offer to sweep oil, manage booms, etc. had to sign a gag order agreement on talking about anything and could not take non-BP-approved journalists along. All clearly intended to control information that would make BP look bad or not be "on message", to adopt a bushism. They managed to find one guy with a skiff who had no love for BP to run them around some. Also a seaplane was hired for aerial photos. I imagine that BP wants more restrictions imposed after an early flurry of "unauthorized" media coverage - but a FELONY? Anyway video of conference here http://tedxoilspill.com/live/#Session1 - look at about 32 minutes in and go on from there. Also from that conference was impressed by slide of Blue Crab Larvae with accumulations of oil/dispersant? (orange blobs in words of researcher at Tulane who sent slide to Darron just before conf. Screen captures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/fly_geyser/sets/72157624410128020/) Potential economic impact, not to mention crimps on "shrimp on the barbie" events of basic food chain life forms, is significant for American food supply. We are talking the biggest food marketing system on the planet here - VERY good reason to control the flow of info if you can't control the flow of your crude blowout. Sir, we/ve established motive.

of course it's a hack - and tactically brilliant! - I am thinking, one ad on a page can be the port

So right here - PA has it wrong and is retreating into paranoia - it's "locked down" but now EVERYONE knows these guys will not be up-to-date, vulnerable in other words

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jeez, I swam in Mono once - sure felt creepy - not only the tiny shrimp, now this!

Boy, read the first few entries and it [discussion] QUICKLY descended into the UNDERWORLD... wake up people... earthquakes, shipping...naaah The bottleneck in the Med. is the PERFECT place for a attaching a tap for capturing almost all Middle and Far Eastern internet traffic. Satellite/cellular/land line phone stuff is easily captured but fibre optic cables are hard to bug. You have to be hanging around at the end of the fiber and have to deal with say France, or Italy - so you cut the cable using a submersible craft launched from a sub, insert your device to siphon off the traffic and passing through traffic with no one the wiser, all in international waters and then fire up NSA to wait for interesting traffic...Osama who???

eh?