Hrmmm #9

Large number of items on my list today.

• US seeks to boost emergency stock - We've got 701,000,000 million barrels of oil in the reserve, but Dubya knows something ill is on the wind and he's storing up for a long winter. 76,000 additional barrels being added to it per day, he says. I wonder what we're not being told.
• 2 arrested at LA airport over Chinese camera shipment - I really don't get this one. Surely China has access to better technology than this. And even if they don't, they could get it off eBay or Craig's List. But something is up in the New Cold War. This is just the first public acknowledgment of it.
• Losses from loan fraud surging, say industry - This is good. The crooks are reporting that they're getting looted. The "mortgage industry" and the Realtors and lenders were robbing the middle class for half a decade, reporting record profits and artificially inflating the housing market. But now they're getting up in arms because people are returning the favor. Best part is "46,000 reports and 260 convictions." Less than 1% conviction rate. Nice!
• Third Airline Closes Amid Worsening Economy - Fuel costs + slowing economic environment. No sign of this slowing down any time soon. We flew far too close to the sun and nobody should be surprised when the wax on our wings melts.
  
• TSA Rules to Blame in Pilot's Gun Mishap, say Pilots and Airline - Staggeringly brilliant. The pilot who brought the gun onto the plane and mishandled it while storing it isn't to blame? His negligence is somehow the fault of the TSA and their rules? How about accepting some responsibility. How about admitting your mistakes. Be a man. And let's move on.
• I like the duality here: Bird flu virus may have got entrenched in India and Bird flu fears wane. Good point: since 2003 only 373 people have been known to have contracted bird flu. Good point: Tens of millions of animals have been slaughtered and millions more are on the chopping block. All for 373 infections? We write "Won To Kill" on our helmet while wearing a peace symbol on our jacket. It's the Jungian thing.
• New Massive Botnet Twice the Size of Storm - Amazing stuff here. Digital supervillains hiding in the ether. And the best minds we have are scared. The public won't ever get it.
• Companies struggle as Safari pops up on networks - Nice to see some bad press on Apple for once. If it were Microsoft's doing, there'd be no end to the cries of foul. And, believe me, this is quite a problem on a corporate network.
  
• EU clears path for in-flight mobile phone use - Hey, hey! First the UK, now the EU. And not a peep from American media to get the populace behind making the change on this side of the pond.