Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Cyberwar:
NY Times: In Ukraine, a Malware Expert Who Could Blow the Whistle on Russian Hacking
"The hacker, known only by his online alias “Profexer,” kept a low profile. He wrote computer code alone in an apartment and quietly sold his handiwork on the anonymous portion of the internet known as the dark web. Last winter, he suddenly went dark entirely. Profexer’s posts, already accessible only to a small band of fellow hackers and cybercriminals looking for software tips, blinked out in January — just days after American intelligence agencies publicly identified a program he had written as one tool used in Russian hacking in the United States. American intelligence agencies have determined Russian hackers were behind the electronic break-in of the Democratic National Committee. But while Profexer’s online persona vanished, a flesh-and-blood person has emerged: a fearful man who the Ukrainian police said turned himself in early this year, and has now become a witness for the F.B.I...."
Economics:
Chris Williams and Fred Magdoff - Capitalist Economies Create Waste, Not Social Value
"More production means more waste: more waste means more production. Waste is a sign of capitalism's success. When people throw away a product after using it for a short period of time, in the spirit of planned obsolescence, they will buy a new one, contributing to growth and corporate profits. As early as the 1920s Stuart Chase identified four systematic sources of waste under capitalism: (1) the labor power used to produce "vicious or useless goods and services"; (2) labor power wasted due to unemployment; (3) the unplanned nature of production and distribution of goods leading to inefficiencies and overproduction; and (4) the senseless waste and overuse of natural resources. Addressing the term coined by nineteenth-century writer and social reformer John Ruskin, Chase wrote that what capitalism produces is not wealth, but "illth." Illth abounds under capitalism. In Monopoly Capital: An Essay on the American Economic and Social Order, first published in 1966, Paul Baran and Paul Sweezy included an appendix by Joseph D. Phillips titled "Estimating the Economic Surplus." Phillips demonstrated that the economic surplus -- aspects of the economy that served no socially useful purpose and would therefore be considered waste in a more rationally organized society -- averaged over half of the gross national product of the United States..."
Energy vs The Environment:
DenverPost: Plan to improve oil, gas industry safety calls for capping orphan wells, but no public access to pipeline maps
"Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is asking oil and gas operators to pony up money to plug the 700 to 800 “orphan wells” in the state, but he is shying away from taking stances on more contentious policies, such as how close new homes can be built to existing wells. Also, he won’t force the energy industry to allow state officials to compile a publicly available map of all oil and gas pipelines. Instead, he wants to enhance the 811 call program to ensure homeowners can use their phones to access pipeline information for site-specific areas. Hickenlooper said industry officials were concerned that a comprehensive statewide map could lead to people illegally tapping pipelines to siphon off gas. Hickenlooper on Tuesday announced a seven-pronged approach he said would improve the safety of the oil and gas industry in the state. He unveiled the steps in a news conference in his office after a three-month review after a fatal home explosion in Firestone that investigators have linked to a severed gas pipeline. “The motivation here is that we do everything we can to make not only workplaces safer but our communities safer,” he said. The policies were formed after the state had oil and gas operators throughout Colorado inspect thousands of wells and miles of associated pipelines after the April 17 blast that killed Mark Martinez and Joey Irwin. On Tuesday, he backed away from comments he made in May calling for a record of flowlines to be made available to the public..."
NY Times: In Ukraine, a Malware Expert Who Could Blow the Whistle on Russian Hacking
"The hacker, known only by his online alias “Profexer,” kept a low profile. He wrote computer code alone in an apartment and quietly sold his handiwork on the anonymous portion of the internet known as the dark web. Last winter, he suddenly went dark entirely. Profexer’s posts, already accessible only to a small band of fellow hackers and cybercriminals looking for software tips, blinked out in January — just days after American intelligence agencies publicly identified a program he had written as one tool used in Russian hacking in the United States. American intelligence agencies have determined Russian hackers were behind the electronic break-in of the Democratic National Committee. But while Profexer’s online persona vanished, a flesh-and-blood person has emerged: a fearful man who the Ukrainian police said turned himself in early this year, and has now become a witness for the F.B.I...."
Economics:
Chris Williams and Fred Magdoff - Capitalist Economies Create Waste, Not Social Value
"More production means more waste: more waste means more production. Waste is a sign of capitalism's success. When people throw away a product after using it for a short period of time, in the spirit of planned obsolescence, they will buy a new one, contributing to growth and corporate profits. As early as the 1920s Stuart Chase identified four systematic sources of waste under capitalism: (1) the labor power used to produce "vicious or useless goods and services"; (2) labor power wasted due to unemployment; (3) the unplanned nature of production and distribution of goods leading to inefficiencies and overproduction; and (4) the senseless waste and overuse of natural resources. Addressing the term coined by nineteenth-century writer and social reformer John Ruskin, Chase wrote that what capitalism produces is not wealth, but "illth." Illth abounds under capitalism. In Monopoly Capital: An Essay on the American Economic and Social Order, first published in 1966, Paul Baran and Paul Sweezy included an appendix by Joseph D. Phillips titled "Estimating the Economic Surplus." Phillips demonstrated that the economic surplus -- aspects of the economy that served no socially useful purpose and would therefore be considered waste in a more rationally organized society -- averaged over half of the gross national product of the United States..."
Energy vs The Environment:
DenverPost: Plan to improve oil, gas industry safety calls for capping orphan wells, but no public access to pipeline maps
"Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is asking oil and gas operators to pony up money to plug the 700 to 800 “orphan wells” in the state, but he is shying away from taking stances on more contentious policies, such as how close new homes can be built to existing wells. Also, he won’t force the energy industry to allow state officials to compile a publicly available map of all oil and gas pipelines. Instead, he wants to enhance the 811 call program to ensure homeowners can use their phones to access pipeline information for site-specific areas. Hickenlooper said industry officials were concerned that a comprehensive statewide map could lead to people illegally tapping pipelines to siphon off gas. Hickenlooper on Tuesday announced a seven-pronged approach he said would improve the safety of the oil and gas industry in the state. He unveiled the steps in a news conference in his office after a three-month review after a fatal home explosion in Firestone that investigators have linked to a severed gas pipeline. “The motivation here is that we do everything we can to make not only workplaces safer but our communities safer,” he said. The policies were formed after the state had oil and gas operators throughout Colorado inspect thousands of wells and miles of associated pipelines after the April 17 blast that killed Mark Martinez and Joey Irwin. On Tuesday, he backed away from comments he made in May calling for a record of flowlines to be made available to the public..."
