What The Frack?

Natural gas is often seen as a clean and safe alternative to most other domestic energy sources.  (Hey- nothing can go wrong when drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico, right.....)  But the dark side of natural gas- hydraulic fracturing might just dampen your spirits.

Hydraulic fracturing or as the cool kids call it, fracking, (according to Wikipedia it may also be referred to as “frac jobs”) is a process that involved injecting water, sand and chemicals into shale rock, “fracturing” the rocks and releasing natural gas.  Advances in fracking techniques have helped generate an explosion in US natural gas production in the past few years, revolutionizing US energy markets.  With a surge in production, natural gas prices are dropping, making them cheap compared to oil.  According to the American Natural Gas Alliance, the US has more natural gas reserves than Saudi Arabia has oil reserves.   Natural gas is also a cornerstone to President Obama’s energy policy.

But this past Wednesday, thousands of gallons of chemical-laced fluids were spilled when drillers lost control of a well in Northern Pennsylvanian near Canton in Bradford County.  The thousand of gallons of the drilling fluid escaped containment and proceeded to crossover farmland, running into local streams.  Residents of the nearby Leroy Township were evacuated, though the Chesapeake Energy Corporation said no one was hurt.  The cause of the breach is unknown, but according to the Chesapeake Energy Corp, crews have reduced its flow.

In the past, environmentalists and residents near natural gas drilling sights have complained that fracking can pollute water supplies, citing blowouts similar to the one that happened this week.  Together, these have raised calls for increased regulations on the process of acquiring natural gas.   And the fracking fluid spill of this week just stokes the debate about whether fracking should continue unabated in the US.

A day before, the State of Pennsylvania asked state’s natural gas industry to halt disposing of millions of gallons of contaminated frack water through plants that discharge into streams and rivers.  Apparently all of the plants were ill-equipped to remove the pollutants from the frack fluids, after recent water tests suggest that the discharges could harm drinking water supplies and human health.  In other natural gas producing states, the frack fluids are injected deep underground into disposal wells.   In PA, most drilling water is trucked from well sites to sewer authorities, where it is partially treated and then discharged to be drinking water.

Meanwhile in Arkansas, two natural gas exploration companies have agreed to shutdown their injection wells as researchers study whether their operations are linked to the over 1,000 unexplained earthquakes in the region.  Injection wells dispose of the frack water when it can no longer be re-used. 

I mean we're not ones to preach, but it being almost Easter and all, we feel the need to drop some insight on all ya'll. If coal is the devil and clean energy is God's gift to the O-Zone, where does natural gas fit in? It is absolutley not the alternative answer that moderate Democrats were lauding just a few short months ago. And the EPA is planning to release regulations on them shortly (the EPA  stating they may or may not or could or i don't know will at some point, maybe, if they feel so compelled to do something.....shocked). Coal is the cheapest answer to the instant headache you get when you open your energy bill every month, natural gas as a (safe??? read above post) alternative to coal is really dwindling by the day. So let's all take a moment and think about the so called "alternatives" as we light our candles in our dining room to save electricity costs tonight.

Election Connection: 2012 Collection

Remember the 2008 Presidential election?  If you don’t you might want to check out another type of blog- there is a pretty good one about messed up cakes.  Anyway, OF COURSE you remember that election, probably because that election was not just a 2008 election; people started announcing their candidacy years in advance.  So we shouldn’t be surprised that people are already forming “exploratory committees” (basically seeing if they can raise enough dough to run).  And you shouldn’t be surprised we will be blogging about it.  (Check back in January 2013 if you don’t want to see any election coverage.)

The first member of our “Collection of Candidates” was going to be none other than Barack H. Obama, but we couldn’t find his birth certificate, so we are going with the man, the hair, the Donald. (Pictured in a mock up 10$ bill of the future, because if you were not born in the United States you shouldn’t be President and you SHOULD NOT be on money.  Take that Alex Hammy).

He currently tops all other Republicans in a GOP poll and in amazing facial expressions while firing people.   And apparently Mr. Trump has been preparing for this run for a while- he bought the domain: trump2012.com in 2004.  Also when you’ve got Christ on your side, you might as well.*

*In no way can we speak for Jesus Christ, but Donald Trump’s dad's actual name was Fred Christ Trump,  or it says so on his birth certificate (probably)

We’ve had so many questions since Mr. Trump started asking for a single piece of Hawaii certified paper- Will he really run? Is this some amazing publicity stunt that would only be attempted by Mr. Trump himself?  Does he really think that he is the best candidate for the job?  Is he even a Republican?  (In 1987, he took out full page ads in several newspapers criticizing the Reagan Administration- which is kinda a no-no for Republicans.)

But he isn’t exactly talking policy- nothing specific at least (hey! Isn’t that what Obama does all the time?)  His biggest issue is not taxes, or the recession, or the wars.  It’s a birth certificate.   It apparently doesn’t matter that Obama actually has produced a certificate of live birth and that most Republicans have dropped the issue (even Mrs. Palin herself has). 

Of course, the Donald hasn’t always been one for facts: his entire world is crazy exaggeration.  Is the best show on television really The Celebrity Apprentice? (Might be now that Lost is over…)  And these ridiculous claims even have Glenn Beck (who has made a ridiculous claim or two) talking: "I could walk around the streets of New York without pants, and I could get attention," Beck said of Trump's assertions "But that's not going to help me."

The thing about Donald Trump is that he was a reality star before there were reality stars and like most reality stars you cannot tell if he is very stupid, very oblivious, or just VERY VERY smart (cough Snooki cough).  Even Rush Limbaugh had to ask “What is he doing? What is his objective?”  Is it a plot to split GOP votes? Is it a publicity stunt? Will he actually run?? (Seriously, I cannot wait for May 22^nd because Celebrity Apprentice ends and I won’t have to look at Gary Busey in the commercials while I watch Parks and Recreation; also we might finally get a glimpse into Mr. Trump’s mind and figure out what’s up with the media parade about birth certificates?)

Of course we will all have to wait for a post- May 22^nd world to know if he will actually put his hat in the ring (figuratively speaking of course because The Donald never puts synthetic fiber on his worth-more-than-my-life head of God awful hair) and if he does, this blog will obviously have something to say about it.  Until then, channel the Donald by always combing your hair to the left, marrying multiple times (to Eastern Europeans only), buying hotels and dipping them in gold, and of course never backing down to any reverse psychology dare by Sharon Osbourne (" You won't run for President in 2012, you won't").

You're Fired!

On On to the Next One - Debt Ceiling Debate Part 1

So, we are partially funded for the foreseeable future (ahem 6 months), the EPA riders were not included, there was somewhat of a mutually beneficial accord set up between both sides, so you all must be asking yourself the same question "what's next to bitch about?". The answer of course is the debt-ceiling.

Now, if you are looking for answers on how to raise your debt ceiling after your weekend binge at Nordstrom’s, stop reading. However, if you are wondering what a debt ceiling is, what the debate will consist of, who the big players will be in the debates, and how this will affect you, then find a comfy chair, grab yourself a Celestial Seasoning's Vanilla Chamomile Tea (hoping shameless promotion will get TAG employees free tea), and read on.

Let me preface the Pulitzer Prize winning work below* (if I do say so myself) by saying that this is Part 1 in a series of multiple blogs on this topic. So don't be discouraged that you will only get TAG insights on it just once, and even before the debates begin, because we aren't going anywhere folks.
*votes still being tallied

The debt-ceiling, simply stated and inherent in its name, is basically the capped amount of money a government entity can borrow. Wait!? We don't just print money whenever we need it!? Nope, and please refer yourself to paragraph 2, sentence one of this blog, and enjoy the rest of your day. So today the US debt-ceiling is at $14.3 Trillion dollars, which is ridiculously low if you A. own a group of islands in the Caribbean B. bath in 100 dollar bills C. are Richard Branson. D. are an out of control first world country with spending and borrowing practices that have yet to be reined in.

The US owes today $14.23 trillion dollars, according to Timothy Geitner, Treasury Secretary, and I am inclined to believe him due to the fact that he is...treasury secretary... we will reach out debt ceiling by May 16th, 2011 (ahem less than a month). If you guys were watching the CR debates as closely as I was then you probably already know that they won't begin debate on this until May 15th....kidding (although there is a precedence here guys!).

Essentially the debate is, and by essentially I mean the debate is, over whether or not to raise the debt ceiling, that is to say that all parties really want to raise the debt ceiling but not without some sort of assurance that this doesn't just mean more out of control borrowing/spending. If the government does not raise the debt ceiling then it will shutdown....wait a minute did we just transport back to two weeks ago?? Nope, same result different issue, it's like an R.L. Stine Choose Your Own Ending novel, except its always the same ending, different story, so it’s not like that at all...annnyway, if we go over the borrowable (made that word up) amount then emergency measures will be taken and it will extend the debt ceiling for 8 weeks.

Geitner warns that failure to act on the debt ceiling will cause and I quote “would cause a financial crisis potentially more severe than the crisis from which we are only now starting to recover.” ughhh I thought we were over that! I just started TIVOing CNBC's Mad Money again; don't make me not want to watch!

Marco Rubio (R-FL), the rico suave answer to all GOP's Latino prayers, has recently said he will not vote for the debt-ceiling. As someone that the GOP is putting a lot of hopes on for future leadership, I would suggest this is not the last time you hear from Rubio on this issue. Another big player, Conrad (D-ND) Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, stated he will not committee to a long-term debt limit raise without significant progress/policies to shrinking the federal deficit. Conrad, being in the position he is, and being a relatively moderate Democrat, will be a prominent voice in this debate as well.

This is Part 1 in an ongoing post regarding the Debt Ceiling Debates (2k11) because we at TAG are positive it will be an intense fight down until the closing bell, and our insights will keep you apprised to where your country is going fiscally*, which party is doing what, and mostly will make you the hit of your dinner parties


*TAG does not claim to know where the country is going physically, as we are not experts (yet) on Pangaea, tectonic plates, or how countries move.

A Change For Congress?

Many people complain about Congress (great joke: if the opposite of pro is con than isn't the opposite of progress, congress?).  All these rich people vying for power, votes, and money and not really caring about Americans..

But for their credit, they do try:  they (try to) dress well (love those power suits Ms. Pelosi), they (try to)work together, they (generally) stay away from sex scandels, they do their research, they (try to) get things done, among many other positive attributes..

There is just one thing wrong and if you have ever watched C-SPAN (and you probably haven't) you know the problem.  Congress is all about show: there is a reason the MoC's sit high up on benches while the witnesses are on level with the audience. So one would assume they cared what the committee rooms looked like..How much money was spent on all that oak paneling? On those cozy chairs the Chair sits in for a few hours once a week? So this just leads to one problem: What is up with those microphones?

Probably true: all of the microphones are on loan from Bob Barker.

Definitely true: at one point or another every MoC has started talking without turning it on.

Most likely true: there has not been a witness that has sat before a committee or subcommittee who has NOT been asked to turn on their mic at one time during their testimony.

Now, I have never been elected to Congress (and probably won't ever be, thanks in part to this blog), so I don't know what they teach the new members there.  But I am proposing that they maybe tell them to turn them on at some point, it will make it easier for those of us who like (get paid) to watch the hearings.  Or really it might be easier (and save some electricity) if we scrapped the whole deal and threw in some tin can phones..

Note to self: Bring HTI's SeaPack on next trip around the world..

Still want to know more about Victor Mooney's doomed trip around the world?

Check out NY1's video by clicking HERE.

Or Check out this slightly less focused video:

Member of the Day: Senator Rand Paul (KY)

The Senator from Kentucky says he is considering a Filibuster of the 2011 Budget which will fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year.  Paul said: "Ask me tomorrow."  Some Republicans, like Mr. Paul, feel that the spending cuts don't go far enough.  Earlier, House Republicans vote to cut $61 billion.  Paul said he would  be more inclined to block action in the upper chamber if it could possibly lead to a consideration of the Senate GOP's balanced budget amendment. 

BUT under Congressman Ryan's plan the Budget won't be balanced for another 28 years, giving many MoC's reason not to pursue the balanced budget Constitutional Amendment.

The vote on the Budget (that cuts almost $39 billion in spending) may come as soon as Thursday.

So here's to Mr. Paul- for sticking to his guns, for allowing us to use the best word in government "filibuster" and for drawing out this "Shutdown-Showdown will they or won't they" longer than anyone could have expected.

Do we think Sen. Paul will enact that Filibuster? Let us gather our thoughts and ask us again later, perhaps tomorrow?

Is Your Mainframe Secure?

When you don't have your host servers locked down in and off themselves, and you only depend on firewalls and perimeter defenses bad things can happen; because once an attacker is inside the trusted domain, they can access everything.  Here is a real world example:

"Tricked" RSA Worker Opened Backdoor to APT Attack
APT Presents New Attack Doctrine Built to Evade Existing Defenses
April 4, 2011 - Eric Chabow, Executive Editor, GovInfoSecurity.com


A well-crafted e-mail with the subject line "2011 Recruitment Plan" tricked an RSA employee to retrieve from a junk-mail folder and open a message containing a virus that led to a sophisticated attack on the company's information systems, a top technologist at the security vendor says in a blog.

An Excel spreadsheet attached to the e-mail contained a zero-day exploit that led to the installation of a backdoor virus, exploiting an Adobe Flash vulnerability, which Adobe has since patched, writes Uri Rivner, head of new technologies, identity protection and verification at RSA, in a blog posted Friday.

RSA unveiled on March 17 that an attacker targeted its SecurID two-factor authentication product in what it termed an advanced persistent threat breach. An APT refers to sophisticated and clandestine means to gain continual, persistent intelligence on a group such as a nation or corporation. Rivner's blog is the first substantial public comment on the breach since Coviello's statement.

RSA on Monday also announced it is acquiring Netwitness, the network security company that provides real-time network forensics and automated threat analysis solutions. In a statement, Netwitness founder and CEO Amit Yoran alluded to the breach: "Recent events reinforce the passion and commitment we have shared for years - to help you combat zero-day attacks, targeted and advanced threats, and other sophisticated security problems."

According to Rivner, the exploit injected malicious code into the employee's PC, allowing full access into the machine. The attacker installed a customized variant of a remote administration tool known as Poison Ivy, which has been used in APT attacks against other companies. Such tools set up a reverse-connect model, which Rivner explains pulls commands from the central command and control servers, then execute the commands, rather than getting commands remotely, making them harder to detect.

Rivner's analysis of the breach determined the attacker had sent two different phishing e-mails over a two-day period to two small groups of RSA employees. "You wouldn't consider these users particularly high profile or high value targets," he says. Once inside, the attacker sought out employees with great access to sensitive information. "When it comes to APTs, it is not about how good you are once inside, but that you use a totally new approach for entering the organization," Rivner says. "You don't bother to just simply hack the organization and its infrastructure; you focus much more of your attention on hacking the employees."

The RSA official says the attacker initially harvested access credentials from the compromised employee and performed privilege escalation on non-administrative users in the targeted systems, and then moved on to gain access to key high value targets, which included process experts and IT and non-IT specific server administrators.

"If the attacker thinks they can exist in the environment without being detected, they may continue in a stealth mode for a long while," Rivner says. "If they think they run the risk of being detected, however, they move much faster and complete the third, and most 'noisy' stage of the attack. Since RSA detected this attack in progress, it is likely the attacker had to move very quickly to accomplish anything in this phase."

Rivner says the goal of the attacker is to extract information. In this assault, he says, the attacker gained access to staging servers at key aggregation points to prepare for extraction. Next, the attacker accessed servers of interest, moving data to internal staging servers to be aggregated, compressed and encrypted for extraction. Then, the attacker used file transfer protocol to transfer many password protected RAR files from the RSA file server to an outside staging server at an external, compromised machine at a hosting provider. The files were subsequently pulled by the attacker and removed from the external compromised host to remove any traces of the attack.

"While RSA made it clear that certain information was extracted, it's interesting to note that the attack was detected by its Computer Incident Response Team in progress," Rivner says. "I've been talking to many CISOs in corporations that were hit by similar APTs and a lot of companies either detected the attacks after months, or didn't detect them at all and learned about it from the government. This is not a trivial point: by detecting what is happening early on, RSA was able to respond quickly and engage in immediate countermeasures."

Rivner characterized APT as a new attack doctrine built to evade existing perimeter and endpoint defenses, and analogized an APT attack to stealth jet fighters that circumvent radar.

"For decades, you've based your air defense on radar technology, but now you have those sneaky stealth fighters built with odd angles and strange composite materials," he says. "You can try building bigger and better radars or ... you can try staring more closely at your existing radars in hope of catching some faint signs of something flying by, but this isn't going to turn the tide on stealthy attackers. Instead you have to think of a new defense doctrine. Building a new defense doctrine takes time, but over the course of history many campaigns that required building a new defense doctrine were eventually won."

Rivner cites the financial industry's seven-year campaign to battle phishing attacks, and alludes to a British payment council announcement that online banking fraud declined 27 percent despite a 21 percent increase in phishing attacks last year. "We've learned a thing or two that can help us build a new defense doctrine against APTs much faster," he says. "Already we're learning fast, and every organization hit by an APT is much more prepared against the next one; I'm confident it will take us far less than seven years to say we've turned the tide on APTs.

So how can you protect mainframe? For more information visit http://www.go2vanguard.com/. You can even sign up for their Annual Security Conference at Harrah's in Las Vegas June 20-23, 2011.


Because what happens on your mainframe, should stay on your mainframe.

MEMBER OF THE DAY

SEN. CARPER (Delaware)

WHY?: because of his superb performance at the HSGA Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Inforamtion, Federal Services and International Security hearing "Examining the President's Plan for Eliminating Wasteful Spending in Information Technology" this morning

PARAPHRASED Quote: "Driving into the train station today and turned on the radio and heard the Rolling Stones' "Hey you get off of my cloud"- This is the first time I've had a hearing with a theme song."

Need more?

PARAPHRASED Quote #2:  When introducing the second panel, "I'd like to say I saved the best for last but those first guys were pretty great.."

THANK YOU Sen. Carper for brightening up our day!

Sick of Budgeting?



If you are sick of hearing about all this budgeting and wish you could raise your own personal debt ceiling, why not take a break and read this inspiring story of a NY man, his capsizing boat "Never Give Up" and the amazing technology from HTI (htiwater.com) from The National Herald.

Man Saved at Sea Thanks Greeks and Greece

Constantine S. Sirigos

 

NEW YORK – NEW YORK – At a time when the global news media seem to be in a contest to present Greece in the worst light possible, Queens, New York resident Victor Mooney called a press conference at New York’s city hall to show the world the face of the country that has gained his eternal gratitude. After a harrowing 14 days in a life raft in the middle of the Atlantic, the captain of the Greek-owned ship MV Norfolk plucked him from the dark and dangerous sea and saved his life.
Mooney’s boat, called “Never Give Up”, sank 250 miles west of the Cape Verde Island, just after he began to row to New York, but the name applied more to Mooney’s spirit than his vessel. The ordeal first called for immediate action. When he saw that he was taking on water, he had to act quickly. He knew he had five to eight minutes to deploy his life raft and gather everything he would need to survive at sea – most importantly his three electronic signaling devices - before the boat sank.
During moments of weakness, he prayed and thought of his wife and children and told himself he had to stay alive for their sake, and that of his mission: He works to call attention to the continuing need for research and assistance to overcome the disease AIDS, which took one away one of his brothers and has stricken another.
Saying he always had a love for the sea rooted in his growing up in Freeport, Long Island, he was inspired a few years ago to row boats across the Atlantic in order to call attention to endeavor in behalf of individuals and families who are suffering. Mooney said that although this experience has brought his seaborne activities to a close, he will continue to fight for his cause.

Victor Mooney holds the HydroPack that kept him alive by filtering seawater. He was stranded for 14 days in a life raft in the middle of the Atlantic.

At the moment, Mooney is focused on thanking those who saved his life. “It was not just a ship, but a country that rescued me,” he told the press on a chilly overcast day not far from what remains of the docks of the port of New York. Make no mistake about it he told reporters: it was a heroic effort that saved him. The ship could only approach his raft with difficulty and the captain and crew made several attempts before bringing him to safety. He said he would have understood if the captain had put the safety of his crew first and sailed away after the initial attempts failed.

No, the captain told him “we would have stayed one hour, or two, or two or three days, even weeks but we would have saved you,” explaining further, “In Greece, we believe there are humans, and there are humans,” and Mooney was thankful that all men are not alike. He deeply appreciate that the ship’s owner, Diana Shipping, also covered the costs repatriation to New York from Brazil.

That the ship remained was not an automatic response. At the beginning of his ordeal, which began on February 26, 2011, another ship came right beside the fragile emergency craft. Mooney even shined a light on a crewman and beckoned for help, but that ship sailed away, indifferent to his fate. But for the Norfolk, which flies a Cypriot flag, there was no question over what to do. The U.S. Coast Guard eventually picked up his signal and informed AMVER, which got in touch with the Norlfolk.

Within two hours of being contacted by AMVER, a member of the Norfolk crew saw Mooney’s flashlight and the rescue effort began.
Mooney thanked everyone for all who helped save him and for all the support he has received. He thanked the U.S. Coastguard whose AMVER service picked up his distress signal and contacted the Norfolk to tell the ship of his whereabouts.
AMVER, Amver is a global system based in New York, is part of the United States Coast Guard. They mainain a data base of of ships that volunteer to be a part of the program, which was begeun in 1958 and track their location. AMVER staff “identify participating ships in the area of distress and divert the best-suited ship or ships to respond,” according to their Web site, amver.com. Marketing Officer Beverley Howard told TNH Beverly said, “No call for help goes unanswered,” and said they are always recruiting new ships to sign up for their program, which would geratly benefit from moors volunteers among the great Greek merchant fleets.
He said had nothing to eat but some herbs, ginseng power and some ginseng roots that his wife packed for him. But the greatest danger to people in his situation is dehydration, surrounded by undrinkable water. The question whether he caught any fish triggered a frightening flashback. “I’m not a fisherman, Mooney said, “even growing up in Freeport. I did try by casting a string with a hook in to the ocean, but it almost punctured the life raft, so no more fishing for me.”

So although he felt God was looking out for him, He didn’t send him any fish. A technological miracle, however, was part of his happy ending. A company called HTI – Hydration Technology Innovations – has a product called HydroPack. It is a self-hydrating drink pouch that has the ability to filter water – salt water at sea and dirty water on land. Mooney was able to scoop up sea water and after a couple of hours he had fresh water to drink so he could stay alive. He said it tastes like a slurpy but has some nutrients too. HTI is one of the world’s leading developers of water and wastewater filtration membrane technology. A company representative told TNH the devices are unlike earlier water purification produces that used a process called reverse osmosis. HydroPack, which has been on the market for only a few years, uses sugar to create osmotic pressure in a way similar to plant roots and the process is called forward osmosis.

With many to thank Mooney kept coming back to the Greeks. He said “I want to thank the people of Greece for their love of humanity and for being true seamen.” He was very happy to have the opportunity to express his appreciation to Greece’s representative in New York when Consul Evangelos Kyriakopoulos arrived. The Consul marveled at his “modern Odyssey and commitment to a noble cause,” and invoked Greece’s millennia old relationship with the sea when he said, “every day people in our country are thinking about and praying for sailors and people on ships all over the world.”

BUDGET: Cuts, Deals, and 2am Releases

In the wee hours of the morning, the House of Representatives released a six-month spending bill which showed where last weeks budget pact cut, what it didn't and what it cost both parties to avert a government shutdown.

Who lost:
-the EPA (cut about $1.6 billion below last year's funding, although Republicans wanted the cut to be around 3$ billion)
-the DHS (first time ever their appropriations are going down)

Who didn't exactly lose:
-President Obama came out with more money to put into his education and Wall Street reforms ("Race to the Top" was promised 700$ million in new money)
-AmeriCorps survives
-NSF recieved 6.9$ billion (307$ million more than the House proposed)


Who gained:
Securities and Exchanges AND Commodity Futures Trading saw slight increases
DOD got 513$ billion in full year funding (about 2$ billion more than fiscal year 2010, but less than what the Republicans proposed)

The CR was released at 2am so experts are still looking through it for more exact changes.  When they find out, we find out- so keep coming back!

April 12, 2011

Today not only marks the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's trip to Space, it also marks the beginning of the TAG blog- a blog which gives you unparalleled insight into the happenings on the Hill, in the White House, and across the Nation.

We spend all day keeping up with the news, so you don't have to!